TAMPA, Fla. — It’s amazing how the years fly by, and for folks like Glenda Kilpatrick, time has certainly passed, but the joy she felt in her years at Chamberlain High School are as present now as they were in 1963.

What You Need To Know

  •  Graduates from Chamberlain High School's class of 1963 are hosting their 60th high school reunion this weekend

  •  Organizers have hosted previous reunions every ten years, along with smaller get togethers, like picnics, annually

  •  A select group of classmates have worked hard at keeping much of the class together by staying in touch online

  • This Saturday's reunion will be the first one that they've held on campus at Chamberlain High

“Our high school years were just kind of what kind of magical years,” she said. “Chamberlain at that time was a really special place.”

Back then, Kilpatrick was Glenda Fortner.

She was in the high school’s choir and had school spirit that could seemingly last a lifetime. She says she isn’t the only alumni who feels this way.

“We all saw the value in that in that experience that we had together, and we just wanted to continue to share that over the years,” Kilpatrick said.

Which is why, 60 years later, in 2023, she and dozens of her classmates will be coming back to Chamberlain this weekend to celebrate their 60th class reunion.

The class of ’63 had their first reunion 10 years after graduating in 1973. It went so well that they had their 20th in the 80s.

Kilpatrick says thanks to the dedication of a handful of classmates, they’ve been able to regularly meet, not just every ten years, but every five and, more recently, have annually hosted picnics.

“They did the hard work of keeping track of graduates and knowing where people were sending out the emails, telling them, we're going to have a picnic at this particular time, we're going to have a reunion at this particular time,” Kilpatrick said.

This weekend, it’s expected that about 70 members of the class of ‘63 will be meeting at this year’s reunion.

Kilpatrick says she’s been part of the planning committee, who have spent the last year getting this Saturday’s festivities together for their first reunion held on Chamberlain’s campus.

When these classmates meet, Glenda says it’s like no time has passed.

“When I talk with that person, I'm still seeing that person,” Kilpatrick said, while pointing to an old yearbook from the 60s. “You know what I mean? I'm still seeing the person I went to high school with.”

It’s a special group of people for several reasons, not only because of these meetings but also because members of the class of ’63 have ended up together.

For example, Kilpatrick is married to David Kilpatrick, a fellow graduate from 1963.

Even though the years have gone by and things like the school’s mascot have changed, Kilpatrick and her classmates are proud of the high school that helped shape them and the connections that have lasted over half a century.

The class of ’63 will have their reunion on Chamberlain’s campus this Saturday.

Of the 626 graduates from that class, organizers say a little over a hundred have passed away, while only about a third have not remained in contact over the years.