Where Are They Now… Life After High School for Two Ladies of the Class of ‘62

By Misty Cryer

Doris Ella Boyd Harrison and Maria E. Sarabia Oliver, both from Carlsbad High School’s Class of ‘62, recently shared their stories of life after high school.

According to The Echo, Carlsbad High School’s yearbook for the 1961-1962 school year, Doris Boyd participated in FHA (Future Homemakers of America), the DE Club (DECA), and was part of the Pow Wow staff. A photo in the DE Club section of the yearbook shows her working at the Phaff Sewing Center.

Doris was born in Carlsbad to Edgar and Willie Mae Boyd, one of 11 children. She graduated from Carlsbad High School in 1962.

In 1965, she met Terry Rex Harrison at Becky’s A&W, whom she married in February of 1966 at Victory Baptist Church in Carlsbad. The couple lived at the Cottage Apartments before buying a house on Cypress Street.

Relocating to Ogden, UT, in 1970, they lived in a basement apartment for a few months before buying a house in Washington Terrace. For 33 years, they were members of Berean Baptist Church in Ogden.

The couple has three children, nine grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. As retirees, they currently reside in East Carbon, UT.

Over the years, Doris has posted in the Facebook group, “I remember living in Carlsbad when.....” In 2016, she posted a photo of herself and her husband celebrating their 50th anniversary in the group with a caption that said, “We just celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. We met at Becky’s A&W, so we had an A&W-themed party.”

Maria E. Sarabia Oliver was also a member of the Class of ‘62. There is a senior photo in The Echo with the name Mary Hope Sarabia. When Maria was asked if she went by “Mary” in high school, she said, “I went by the nickname Leta in school.”

Shortly after graduation, Maria joined the Women’s Army Corps. A fellow classmate, Nyoka Northcutt, joined at the same time, she said.

“I was trained as a Combat Medic and Neuropsychiatric Specialist by the Army and took training at Ft. Sam Houston, TX, and Valley Forge, PA, Fort McClellan, AL, and Fort Dix, NJ,” Maria said. “My primary function was to escort wounded warriors either to another medical facility—perhaps a burn ward—or to escort them home after a medical discharge,” she said.

While working in the emergency ward at Fort Dix, Maria said, “I met and married the most amazing soldier, SFC (E-7), Wilfred D. Oliver.” She said she and her husband had been married for 62 years before he passed earlier this year. The couple has five children, seven grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren, she said.

Aiming to surprise her brothers, Maria said she purchased a home in Carlsbad to spend the winter months. The surprise is out, and she is currently enjoying her new home, where she said she caught her first rattlesnake.

For fond memories of growing up in Carlsbad, Maria said, “I enjoyed the vintage autos.” She said she now owns her own old cars, which she intends to have shipped here after having protection built for them. They include a 1976 Lincoln Continental, a 1973 Saab Sonnett, a Ford two-seat Thunderbird with a round opera window, and a 1962 Ford T-Bird, she said.

Maria said she is also a quilter. The American flag that she made took first place and best of show at the Hemlock Fair in New York in September, she said, adding, “I am very patriotic, and the symbolism of our flag means a lot to me. I will display it proudly in my new home in New Mexico.”