Dwayne Lizar Bibliography for EHS 1960
In view of the fact that I will become 80 years old next month and have never attended a high school reunion, I thought it might be nice to reach out to my surviving fellow classmates from Enid High School and give a brief description of my journey since high school. Following high school, I attended Phillips University majoring in speech and hearing science. My father died at an early age (47) and I left school for a short time following his death, graduating with a bachelor of science in 1965. That’s right a B.S. from P.U. After accepting a vocational rehabilitation scholarship my studies were continued at the University of Oklahoma Medical Center and Phillips University with a Master’s of Science degree achieved in 1968. During my early college days, I married Linda Roberts and we had two sons, Jeffrey and Christopher. When Jeffrey was three years old and Christopher was one month old my family and I moved to Nashville, Tennessee where I completed two years of post-graduate work in the speech pathology/audiology program at Vanderbilt University. My professional experiences have included work in hospitals, clinics, schools, and private practice. From Enid we lived for a short time in Kansas City, Missouri prior to moving to Ponca City, Oklahoma where a group of us developed a speech pathology/audiology department within a community mental health program. In 1975 my family moved to Phoenix, Arizona where I established a private practice.
Linda and I divorced in 1981 as I moved to California and she retained her residence in Arizona. Following a practice of eleven years in Arizona, I tested the waters in California where I have been affiliated with a variety of programs, including 17 years as a contract speech-language pathologist in various schools affiliated with Summit Speech Pathologists, Inc.
I informally retired in 2017 after over 50 years in my chosen profession. I continue to have a limited practice in audiology performing central auditory processing evaluations for students in four school districts. It keeps me as busy as I want to be, but not as demanding as before “retirement.”
Our two sons attended Arizona State University where Jeff completed a degree in business and Chris was involved in the music department and played on the drumline of the marching Sun Devils. Jeff and his wife Stefanie live in Yorba Linda, California and have two sons, Colin, a student at UCLA and Parker, a sophomore at Foothill High school in Orange County. Colin writes for the Daily Bruin covering water polo activities and Parker plays water polo at his high school.
Chris and his wife Monica live in Corona, California and have a son, Austin who is a seventh-grade honor student and plays soccer. They have a daughter, Sierra, a fifth-grade student who is an excellent student and cheerleader performing at minor league baseball games and participating in competitions.
I currently live with my partner of twenty-one years, Robbie (a woman honestly) in a gated community in Murrieta, California. We enjoy walks on the beach, traveling, dining out, and playing golf. Our home borders the 17th fairway of the California Oaks Golf Club where we sometimes play. Behind our home is a pond which attracts many different types of birds such as great white herons, Canadian Geese, ducks and in the neighboring trees we have red tailed hawks, owls and a variety of smaller birds.
Life is good and I have been blessed with family, friends, and good health. My relationship with Robbie has opened my life to her children and grandchildren. One is a student at the University of San Diego and is an accomplished equestrian. (I don’t know where that came from, her parents are very city). Two of her grandchildren are very accomplished water polo players and with Parker’s team making three we watch; we often spend weekends watching a lot of water polo. Including Robbie’s children, we have a total of nine grandchildren and one great grandchild.
Robbie and I are both originally from Oklahoma and will always regard the Sooner state as home. We have made several trips back to visit family and friends. We are huge Sooner fans and bleed crimson and cream. Anytime a Sooner team gets close to where we are, we make it a point to attend the games. We followed the softball team closely this year and celebrated their sixth national championship. My faith remains strong and my politics continue to be conservative in spite of all the craziness surrounding us here in California.
It is difficult to fathom how quickly life moves on when you are young. You always think you have more time, but sometimes that doesn’t work out. I have always been proud to be a Plainsman and in spite of the lack of contact with old friends, have fond memories of my time in Enid, as a child, in high school, and in college.
I wish you all well and hope you are living the life you intended to live.
Warm personal regards,
Dwayne