Class of 1993 (Plant City High School)

The Dash Poem

I read of a man who stood to speak
at the funeral of his friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
from the beginning...to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth
and spoke of the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
that she spent alive on earth…
and now only those who loved her
know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own;
the cars…the house…the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard…
are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left.
That can still be rearranged

If we could just slow down enough
to consider what’s true and real,
and always try to understand
the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger,
and show appreciation more
and love the people in our lives
like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,
and more often wear a smile…
remembering that this special dash
might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy’s being read
with your life’s actions to rehash...
would you be proud of the things they say
about how you spent your dash?

by Linda Ellis

DeAndre Marcellous Abram

Septemner 12, 1974 - May 11, 2003

Deanna Ammerman

5/2/1975 - 10/5/1993

Tim Patton

9/27/1974 - 7/15/2000

Melissa Michelle Chapman Whigham

Melissa Chapman, born 7/19/1975, passed away in from cancer 8/23/2003. She was married and had a little boy. Information provided by a classmate.

WHIGHAM, Melissa Chapman, 28, lost her courageous battle with ovarian cancer. She was born in Tampa 19 July 1975, and died 23 August, 2003 in Lakeland General Hospital. She is survived by her: husband Christopher, and 2 1/2 year old son Joseph; parents Don and Freda Chapman of Wadsworth, Ohio; two sisters, Kimberly Lesure (Mrs. Jason) of Montrose, Colorado., and Whitney Chapman of Wadsworth, Ohio; maternal grandpar ents Fred Venable of Mulberry, and Josephine Venable of Auburndale; paternal grandparents Charles and Betty Chapman of Brandon. Missi graduated from Plant City High School in 1993, and from St. Leo University in 1999. She is a member of the First Missionary Baptist church in Auburndale, where the funeral services will be held Wednesday, August 27, 2003 at 10 a.m. She was a member of the Gamma Epsilon, St. Leo Chapter. Contributions, in her memory, may be made to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, a project she was working on at the time of her death. Go to the web site http://www.act ive.com/ donations/ welcome_fr_ public.cfm?=missy

Melinda Ann Boyd

Research indicates classmate passed in 2004.

Roger Alan Goodall

Research indicates this classmate has passed.

Taurus Jackson

Research indicates this classmate passed in 2006.

Jennifer Rebecca Ross

1/24/2075 - 3/17/1998. A classmate states that this individual has passed away.

Jeffrey Futch

9/22/1975 - 5/16/2005. Information provided by a classmate.