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Deceased Classmate: Connie L. Middleton
Date Of Birth:
Date Deceased: 02-25-2004
Age at Death: 53
Cause of Death: Cancer
Classmate City: Richmond
Classmate State: VA
Classmate Country: USA
Survived By: Loving parents, Mr. and Mrs. R.G. Middleton in Palm Beach Gardens, as well her five siblings, and four, cherished adult children.
How good it was to read comments about my two sisters in your website. Yes, as a younger sister, I recall they were all that has been said. And more. My sister Cathy switched from Modelling to Ministry where she continues to live in NYC and can be googled as: Cate Capozzi. My sister Connie was an accomplished actress both in college and community plays, having attended; USF, Hillsborough JC, FAU, Mercy College, College of New Rochelle, Manhattanville, and lastly, Columbia Univ. where she recieved her MMSW in 1996. She was an entrepreneur/owner of a small gift shop named 'Sisters', bred yellow Labradors, raised four amazing kids... Connie was a voracious reader, avid gardener, and amazing knitter. She knitted an amazing and beautiful volume of purses during her long and valiant fight against cancer. Although the deadly C-monster robbed her of a long life, it can never take away the legacy of her love and life lived to the fullest. We miss her, but share her ardent faith in Christ, that through HIM and HIS undeserved advocacy for us, we will enjoy eternal life together when these earth lives are finished.
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Robert Jordan (1968)
Hi everyone (Class of 68 and friends of)..This tribute to Connie Middleton is my second tribute in a week you can read my first for Joan Kouns (John Kouns' sister) in her In Memory posting.. and I sincerely intend to write tributes to ALL of our fallen Class of 1968 friends and possibly from other years, that I can recall.
Since this great new RBHS Hornets Web site, astutely put together by Chuck Dettman (1968) and Paul Yorke (1970) began last month, I've been a regular visitor.. I've sent and gotten some email.. and want to contact more of you, and got some quite unexpected comments (thank you Sarah Philips) to my School Story which will be edited when time permits.. and also when I can find the time, I will be contributing to the Forum.. already I've been itching to comment on such posted topics as WQAM AM, Music Casters, The Bazaar Intl, Royal Castle, the A&W Drive-In (all were on Broadway), the "Ship", Singer Island in general, and my own "Hut" story that you may find incredible. Plus my own threads about Riviera Beach and the WPB area from our days at RBHS and into the early 70s before I left home to study art and design in New York. I am a South Florida native, born and raised in and around West Palm Beach and Riviera, and my mother's family were among the early settlers to the Riviera (as it was known before 1924)/WPB area.. making me at most a third generation Floridian.. something quite rare back in the late 60s among our class members. And by 1966, the term "transplant" (all of you whose parents came south to work for semiconductor pioneers RCA, Honeywell, and Pratt and Whitney among other defense plants) and "snowbird", those yearly northern tourists with their bad driving habits, who moved down.. (smile)
I also pause and reflect on those who've left us.. those who won't be at this year's Buzz or Class of 69 reunion. And the list seems to grow every year.. especially with our Class of 68.. and by my count, up to 40 who have moved on to the other side.. Our Class of 68 had circa 420 seniors, the largest graduating class at that point.. which, sadly, means 10% of our Alumni have died in the past 40 years. And, of course, there were only two more senior classes. Riviera Beach High changed its name to Suncoast High in 1970 which means, in that school year, the underclassmen/women in the three lower classes, juniors, sophomores and freshman graduated from Suncoast High and thus cannot be registered on this site, and must be on Suncoast's site.. If one exists, beginning with the Class of 71 which, in a way, makes them stranded and have only one year's group of friends to contact, their senior class. I digress.
And lastly to Connie. I was quite saddened to read she had died and also that there was no information as to when she died. I am hoping someone can fill in that missing info.. As for Connie herself in life, I remember her around the school. Even though we weren't friends, as much as that was possible for me to have a female friend at our school. But I recall her, as you can see in her photo, as being your typical sixties girl.. Blonde, good looking and wearing "groovy clothes" i.e., there were basically two kinds of styles the girls wore back in the mid to late 60s.. the standard RBHS look, the rather conservative prep school Bass Weejun and knee length skirts with coordinated blouses (forgive me my wife works in fashion design) look that had a male counterpart.. (we all wore it including me) And the Swinging Sixties London-Mary Quant-Mod look worn by some girls who favoured that over the preppie look. Looking at Connie's photo, I've conjured up a memory of her looking like that. I could be wrong but it's just what I recall. She was a beautiful girl.. I wish I'd had the courage to have even talked to her. My loss.. and our loss now that she's gone.
And one last comment. At the 1988 Class of 68 20th reunion dinner, I sat at the table with David Mitchell, Dave Rubinson and a female classmate whose name I can't recall, but could have been Connie Middleton (sp?). She was alone and, I think by 1988, still single as I was. Ah well, I was in town for the reunion and had to catch a flight to New York on Monday and then, three days later, a flight to London.. If I'd had more time, I would've liked to have seen her again. Was she Connie? I don't know. I remember the In Memorium list for our class that was on a placard at the entrance to the PGA grand ballroom and was later posted on the Tripod RBHS website. I was stunned to see at least 13 names on it.. but not Connie's. Is there anyone here who remembers if she was at that reunion?
In peace,
Rob
Sarah Phillips (1968)
I remember Connie also. She was very fashionable. Her sister, Kathy was a model and competed for young model of the year which was broadcast nationally. The two girls were very similar in nature, if I remember, while Connie was more a 5'6" and Kathy towered as most models do. Both were beautiful. Connie had a quiet and humorous demeanor. She was very good natured.Robert Jordan (1968)
Have I spelled her last name right? But Middelton just doesn't sound right. Does anyone know when she died or how? And yes, she was a real sensitive girl, quiet if I recall."She was very fashionable. Her sister, Kathy was a model and competed for young model of the year which was broadcast nationally."
So my memory of her was correct? She wore the kind of clothes girls were wearing on the streets of London.. not Palm Beach lol.. She was Mary Quant and Seventeen not Palm Beach Life. If I remember her look, besides the Mod look hairstyle, I recall her wearing lacy stockings, almost fishnet.. with short skirts and shoes right out of a magazine.. and you're right she was tallish. 5ft 6in was tall. My sister is 5ft 7in and she preferred that look over the preppie image, tho I'd say it as less Mary Quant and more Sears and less Seventeen, tho she read that mag, than 16 which she read every month. I'd sneak a peek in it for Beatles stories and other new groups cuz that's all there was.. there was no Rolling Stone or anything to read about the rock scene.
As I wrote somewhere else, what turned my head and me on, was the Connie type.. who dressed like Twiggy and looked like Jean Shrimpton.. anything besides the utterly boring conservative and conformist Palm Beach look.. of Weejuns, and coordinated colours.. The girls who looked like that stood out. and by 1966 they were standing out.. a lot. The guys, unfortunately myself included, fell into two camps.. the Palm Beach look of blazers, ties, Weejuns and coloured trousers, which I conformed to. And the Surfer look.. Hawaiian shirts, stripes and other California styles.. sometimes they conformed to the preppie look. but the preppies who didn't surf never wore surf clothes.. Including me. I didn't surf and wasn't about to fake it.
I'm not sure I knew Connie's sister, Kathy, was she at RBHS? Or graduated already? Today that contest would be America's Next Top Model and they kill to get on that show, just to get on it. The entire entertainment industry has become one huge amateur talent show. and I stress amateur.
Here's to you, Connie.
Sarah Phillips (1968)
Kathy was a year ahead of Connie. Kathy was very tall and I believe she used the same agency that I did, Maize Murphy Kline on Sunrise Ave, Palm Beach. The competition that Kathy was in was a very big deal. More like a Miss America. Not at all like the cheesey reality shows of today. It was a one shot deal and the winner won a contract with a top modeling agency in NYC, probably Ford. You are correct, Shrimpton was on her way out and Twiggy was huge. Connie was not a model but every bit as beautiful as her sister.David Amsden (1967)
I remember them both and they both were beautiful. Not many people knew, but I also was listed with Mazie Murphy Kline in the mid 1960's and worked a few shows with Kathy. RIP Connie!David Amsden