commentary T H E O FFI CIAL M AGA ZINE O F CO K ER CO LLEG E – HAR T S V ILLE, SOU T H C AR O LINA
ADVENTURE ABROAD
How dancer Miranda Knorr found challenge and adventure in Germany and Poland FOCUS ON LITERACY
Celebrating the first Master of Education graduating class
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Junior Dallas Witt on why Coker College is home
S U M M E R 2015
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COMMENTARY
A M E SS AG E F RO M D R. RO B E RT L . W YAT T PR ESIDENT of the COLLEGE
Summer 2015 | Vol. 44, No. 2
It’s difficult to put the value of a Coker education into words.
coker.edu | cokercobras.com facebook.com/cokercollege | youtube.com/cokercollege
Nevertheless, that’s exactly what we’ve tried to do in this issue of the Commentary. You’ll read about the value of study abroad for cultural and intellectual growth on page 15. There’s even value in failure, which several of our esteemed faculty members covered at an interesting panel discussion
TEAM
during this year’s James W. Lemke Celebration of Academics (page 7).
EDITOR
A R T D I R E C T O R
L aura Hoxworth Director of Institutional Identity lhoxworth@coker.edu
Norah Wofford ’11
And while we know that rankings are not the most nuanced way to estimate
Manager of Creative Services nwofford@coker.edu
the true value of higher education, it’s always nice to see our value recognized by an outside source—like Washington Monthly magazine, which ranked Coker No. 5 in the Southeast region among colleges providing the “Best
E D I T O R S/CO N T R I B U T O R S
Seth Johnson ’12
Kyle Saverance ’06
Bang for the Buck.” (Take a look on page 11. You might be surprised to see
Video Production & Broadcast Media Specialist sjohnson@coker.edu
Vice President for Institutional Identity ksaverance@coker.edu
how we match up.)
Tiletha Lane
Johnna Shirley
Director of Alumni Relations & Special Events tlane@coker.edu
Director of Annual Funds & Planned Giving jshirley@coker.edu
Dee Pierce
Going into my seventh year at Coker, I’m beginning to understand the myriad ways that each of us finds value here. I’m also beginning to understand that the best way to understand it is to listen. That’s why, in this issue, you’ll also hear directly from many members of our
Manager of Resource Development dpierce@coker.edu
community: students, faculty, staff and alumni. Junior Dallas Witt wrote a wonderful, personal story on page 5. And on page 17, we had to print a few of the stories you all shared with us during our second annual #OneForCoker
The Commentary is the official magazine of Coker College and is published by the Office of Institutional Identity
day of giving. It might be impossible to cover all the ways we value this institution, but
COKER COLLEGE
nothing gets closer than your own stories. We’re happy to share a few of
Office of Institutional Identity 300 East College Avenue Hartsville, SC 29550-3797 843.383.8000 | marcom@coker.edu
them here. Hope you enjoy it. Sincerely,
COKER.EDU
Dr. Robert L. Wyatt
table of contents IN THIS ISSUE summer 2015
3 Homecoming 2015
9 Congratulations, Class of 2015
Student-athletes honor Make-A-Wish child
Words of advice from Brady Bassford ’15 to his classmates and fellow graduates
4 An Award-Winning Year Quick hits from a standout season in Coker athletics
15 Finding Adventure Abroad At the intersection of history and dance, junior Miranda Knorr discovers that adventure comes in many forms.
11 Best Bang for the Buck Coker ranked No. 5 in the Southeast for value by Washington Monthly Magazine
5 Student Spotlight In his own words, junior Dallas Witt shares his personal Coker story of how he found a homeaway-from-home at Coker College.
12 News Briefs Highlights from a busy year in the Coker community
13 Focus on Literacy Hartsville native Mary Morrison, a member of the first Master of Education graduating class, is making a difference in her school and her community.
17 #OneForCoker Your stories from our second-annual 24-hour online giving challenge
18 Class News Alumni news and notes from your Class Representatives
7 In Defense of Failure 30 Recognitions
Faculty perspectives on failure from the sixth annual Celebration of Academics
2015 alumni awards and recognitions
DEPARTMENTS CONNECT athletics & campus life
LEARN academics & faculty news
ACHIEVE awards & accolades
GROW looking toward the future
ENGAGE coker in the community
ADVANCE alumni news
CONNECT
HOMECOMING 2015
Student-Athletes Honor Make-A-Wish Child
CONNECT
This past February, Coker held its first-ever winter Homecoming celebration. The weekend was a whirlwind of events, including dance concerts, a 5k race, alumni awards, an athletics Hall of Fame induction and a win for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams. But among all the fun and excitement, one event in particular stood out. On Saturday, Feb. 28, Coker’s StudentAthlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) hosted its second “Make-A-Wish Day,” an event to raise funds and awareness for the Make-A-Wish Foundation—a non-profit organization that arranges experiences for children with life-threatening medical conditions. This year, SAAC honored four-year-old Braylin Wilds from Hartsville, SC. Braylin, who was diagnosed in July 2013 with undifferentiated sarcoma, a cancer of the muscles, bones and tissue, had his wish granted earlier this year by the Make-A-Wish Foundation to go to Disney World. On Feb. 28, Braylin had another wish come true: being on the Coker men’s basketball team. Before Saturday’s game, Braylin had a chance to meet and spend time with the student-athletes. On Saturday, he was officially welcomed onto the team as an honorary member for the day and provided with his own Coker basketball jersey. And, at halftime of the men’s game, Braylin and his mother, MaKayla Benjamin, were recognized and presented with a game ball. The honor meant a lot for Braylin and his family, who have strong ties to Coker and the city of Hartsville. Benjamin’s cousin Trey James is a rising senior on the Coker men’s basketball team, and her brother played for Cok-
3 | SUMMER
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er assistant coach Aric Samuels when Samuels coached at Hartsville High School prior to taking the coaching job with Coker.
Day really puts things in perspective and makes you cherish what you have, and shows the impact genuinely caring for someone can have on everyone involved.”
“We are happy that Coker and the Pee Dee Chapter of Make-A-Wish chose Braylin to be recognized,” said Benjamin. “The Coker basketball players have welcomed Braylin and are so genuine and have really taken an interest in having us around. This is something we will remember for a long time.”
The Make-A-Wish Foundation operates on the belief that a wish come true helps children feel stronger, more energetic, and more willing and able to battle their lifethreatening medical conditions. Braylin’s halftime celebration was the culmination of a full week of fundraising, during which the SAAC student-athletes sold Krispy Kreme donuts and held other fundraisers for Make-AWish as part of the NCAA Division II Make-A-Wish initiative. Coker’s SAAC raised more than $2,500 for Make-AWish during the 2014-15 school year. Since beginning a partnership with Make-A-Wish in 2003, NCAA Division II has raised more than $3.5 million for the foundation. In the 2013-14 school year, Division II schools raised $567,778, besting the previous year’s efforts by almost $50,000 and setting a Division II fundraising record.
Coker’s SAAC is made up of about 40 student-athletes and is part of a network of committees in the NCAA, including committees at the national, division and conference levels. SAAC was created for student-athletes to provide insight on the student-athlete experience and offer input on the rules, regulations and policies that affect student-athletes' lives on campus. Goals include promoting communication between athletics administration and student-athletes and organizing community service efforts. Community service is a core aspect of the Coker experience. All traditional undergraduate Coker students complete community service as part of Trans4mations, Coker’s four-year program. Community service provides an opportunity for students to develop leadership skills that reflect initiative, vision and caring in their response to the community. By helping others, Coker students come away with a more compassionate and nuanced view of the world around them. “It was fun having Braylin be part of the team,” said junior guard Deion Craig. “He was really shy throughout the whole day, but you can tell the joy and happiness was there. Being a part of SAAC and the Make-A-Wish
“Coker Athletics and the SAAC are honored to be a part of the NCAA Division II Make-A-Wish initiative,” said Sharod Williams, SAAC advisor and assistant director of sports information and compliance at Coker. “We take great pride in working alongside the Pee Dee Chapter of Make-A-Wish to recognize the recipients of wishes and their families. We hope to continue this partnership for many years to come and continue to raise awareness for those battling life-threatening illnesses.”
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AN AWARD-WINNING YEAR Just their second full year in the South Atlantic Conference, 2014-15 was a big year for the Cobras. Both teams and individual student-athletes were recognized for athletic and academic excellence. We’ve rounded up some highlights.
CONNECT
MEN’S LACROSSE WINS REGULAR-SEASON CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP The Coker men's lacrosse team closed out its 2015 regular season with a 15-7 conference win over Brevard College. The win extended the Cobras' winning streak to eight games and clinched the team a share of the 2015 regular season SAC conference championship. After a loss to the Crusaders of Belmont Abbey College, the Cobras concluded the 2015 season with an overall record of 9-5 and a 7-1 record in conference play. The nine wins are also a single-season team record.
WOMEN’S LACROSSE COMPETES IN SAC SEMIFINALS The Coker women's lacrosse team knocked off the No. 3 seeded Tusculum College Pioneers, 12-10, in the quarterfinals of the SAC Women's Lacrosse Championship to secure a spot in the semifinals. After a loss to the Lenoir-Rhyne University Bears, the Cobras finished their 2015 campaign with a program-record nine wins. Five members of the team were named to the South Atlantic Conference allconference teams: defender Marabeth Durden was named a first team All-SAC selection, while attacks Haley McCusker and Danielle Holcomb along with midfielders Claudia Jenkins and Mackenzie Baker were All-SAC honorable mention selections.
WRESTLER TRAVIS LAXTON COMPETES IN NATIONAL WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP Wrestler Travis Laxton took the mat at the 2015 NCAA Division II Wrestling National Championship in St. Louis, Mo. as the No. 3 seed in the 125-pound weight class. A senior from Pouchers Corner, Fla., Travis Laxton had an outstanding season for the Cobras. He entered the national tournament with a record of 23-5, including winning the Citadel Open, placing second at the Midwest Classic and capturing second place at the NCAA Midwest Super Regional. Laxton went 1-2 in the tournament, falling just short of achieving All-American status. He finished the season with a record of 24-7, becoming the second Cobra in two years to qualify for the NCAA Division II National Championship.
TWO COKER STUDENTS NAMED SOUTH ATLANTIC CONFERENCE SCHOLARATHLETE OF THE YEAR Dylan Marks was named SAC ScholarAthlete of the Year for Men's Lacrosse, and Dylan Bates for Track & Field. The SAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award is presented annually to one student-athlete in each of the Conference's championship sports. Marks, a defender and team captain, played in 14 games and earned first team All-SAC honors. A physical education major with a concentration in exercise science, Marks boasted a 3.8 gradepoint average at his graduation in May. In March, he was the recipient of the 201415 Department of Physical Education and Sports Studies Outstanding Student Award. He was also a nominee for Scholar All-America honors from the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA). A native of Westminster, Md., Marks will attend the University of Maryland, Baltimore School of Medicine in the fall to study physical therapy. Bates, a Co-Captain of the 2015 Coker Track & Field squad, notched three topthree finishes on the year. A senior from Scarborough, Ontario, he carries a 4.0 GPA as a mathematics and computer science double major. He has been named to the Coker College Dean's List every semester and was twice named to the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll. The president of the Computer Science and Math Club, Bates also founded and served as the treasurer of the Astronomy Club.
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T HE OFFICIA L M AG A ZINE OF COKER COL L EG E, H A RT S V IL L E, S .C .
C O M M E N TA RY
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CONNECT
“I WANTED MY VOICE TO BE
CONNECT
HEARD.”
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KN OWIN G MY N A M E I S G R E AT, B U T KN OWIN G
CONNECT
M Y S T O RY IS EVEN BETTER. BY JUNIOR DALL AS WIT T My Coker story began in the spring of 2012. When I first stepped foot on Coker’s campus, I had no idea it was the place I would soon call my home-away-from-home. I was still a junior in high school, and I was only there to watch my older sister walk across the stage in front of the iconic Davidson Hall at her graduation. I didn’t know it at the time, but that was the day that made me want to choose Coker. Let’s fast-forward just a little—to November of 2012, my senior year of high school. I hadn’t applied to any colleges yet, because I didn’t want to think about what I was going to do after high school yet. I remember considering a few large universities. But when I tried to picture myself at those bigger universities, I saw myself in a huge crowd of students—just a number, not a name. The more I thought about it, I realized that wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted my professors to know who I was. I wanted to be able to connect with more than just the people who sat beside me in some huge auditorium. I wanted my voice to be heard. I thought about Coker, and what my sister had told me about it. I remembered walking up the blacktop of Davidson. The smiles, the
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laughs, and the friendly faces that surrounded this campus are what drew me in. Right then, I knew that Coker was the place for me. Just a few short months later, I was walking across my own stage—but for my high school graduation. I thought to myself that in two short months, I would be in college. Not just any college, but Coker College. That summer flew by, and August came quick. As I loaded up my car with all my stuff, I was nervous, excited, anxious, and just full of so many emotions. The drive from Sumter to Hartsville was only about an hour, but it felt like an eternity. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I remember walking through the library for orientation. All of my sister’s former professors and mentors were coming up to her and greeting her, asking her how she was and what she was doing there. Then, once they realized that I was her little brother and that I would be attending Coker, they all turned to me and welcomed me to the family. After the check-in process was over, I drove my car to the JLC parking lot and was met by even more people with open arms: literally, open arms. I stepped out of my car, and a group of people came up to me and started unloading all my things. At first, I was super confused—I didn’t even know these people— until my sister explained that this was just something that Coker does for freshmen on move-in day. How lucky are we, right?
Once I got up to my room (which was on second-floor RTC, thankfully), I was able to finally meet my roommate. We had talked during the summer and planned out what we were bringing, but it was the first time we met in person. We hit it off instantly, and are still really good friends almost two years later. After I was all settled in, I said goodbye to my parents and sister, and suddenly realized that I wouldn’t have someone watching over me all the time. I was in college. As soon as I could, I started getting involved with different organizations on campus. I knew that if I wanted to make the most out of my time here, and to make the difference that I wanted to, I needed to get involved. Best. Decision. Ever. I have been able to meet so many people through my campus organizations, and everyone seems to know who I am. I got exactly what I wanted: to be known by my name, and not as “that kid in my class.” As I finish up my second year of college, I could not be happier with my decision to attend Coker. The friends I’ve made here, along with the bonds I have with my professors, are unlike anything I could have found at another college. I couldn’t see myself anywhere else. At Coker, people not only know my name—they know my story. They know that I’ve worked hard to get where I am, and I will continue to work hard to make sure my Coker story is all that it can be.
T HE OFFICIA L M AG A ZINE OF COKER COL L EG E, H A RT S V IL L E, S .C .
C O M M E N TA RY
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LEARN
I N D E F E N S E O F FA I LU R E Faculty perspectives on failure from the sixth annual Celebration of Academics What is failure? As students, teachers
But this year, there were a few notable changes. For the
and human beings, when do we confront
first time, the 2015 Celebration was organized around
failure—and how can experiencing
focused on the process of learning—the ups and downs, the successes and failures, and the value of each step
failure lead to success?
along the journey. The schedule also featured new events
On April 6-8, 2015, Coker hosted its sixth annual Celebration
of
Academics.
An
a central theme: “Academics in Action.” Each event
annual
campus-
wide tradition recognizing Coker's unique academic environment, the three-day event celebrates the myriad forms of academic exploration, both inside and outside of the classroom, that define a Coker education. In 2014, the Celebration was named in memory of James W. Lemke, former professor of political science and
to highlight the theme: including a “behind-the-scenes” look at Coker’s performing arts programs and a faculty panel discussion titled "Failures, Errors, Revisions, Mistakes: Steps Toward Success." Excerpted from the panel discussion, a few members of the Coker faculty share their thoughts on the meaning of failure here:
philosophy and a member of Coker's faculty for nearly 40 years. 7 | SUMMER
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DR. JULIA KLIMEK
Professor of English & Coordinator of the English Program The theme of this year’s Celebration of Academics is “Academics in Action,” and actions will sometimes lead to failure. But failure can also be interesting and sometimes even constructive. In my classroom, I don’t care about the product. The work that happens in the process of creating a paper, and revising it and reorganizing it and all that—that is what is important, not the product. I care about the stuff that’s happening in the mind when it’s being used.
PROF. JIM BODEN
Professor of Art
The only time you can fail, in my mind, is when you learn nothing from it. If you are afraid to fail, you will not succeed. If you’re unwilling to take a risk for something to not come out the way you hoped it would or anticipated that it might, you’ve eliminated a million ways that you can learn something from that experience. You have to take that risk. A lot of times a student will ask me, “Well, what if I do this?” And I’ll say, “Well, what if you do?” So they try it. And then they come back and say, “It didn’t work.” And I nod my head and they say, “You knew that?” And I say, “Yeah.” “Well why did you have me do it then?” “So that you would know.”
Provost of the College
When I was teaching French, I tried to tell my students, “Don’t give me a blank answer on an exam. If you give me an answer that is completely wrong, but you use very good French—then you’ve done something right, and it’s worth some credit for that.” We have a tendency sometimes as educators to think that our students in the 21st century are scared of failing—when, in fact, I think gaming shows us in many ways that they embrace it. What’s the absolute worst video game that you can buy? One that you could beat in 10 minutes. No, you want one that forces you to try over and over and over again until you figure out how to get to the next level. I think it’s about persistence. That’s where we can take something from this discussion and apply it more broadly for our students—and ourselves. College can be a high stakes environment, and students have a lot of fear about failing. We have to instill that safe environment where students feel that it’s okay to be wrong and to try again.
DR. JASNA SHANNON
Associate Professor of English and Director of the Writing Center
I see failures and errors as a sign of learning, as a part of a process of grappling with ideas and concepts. Often students will see revision as, “Oh, I failed the first time and now I have to rewrite it again.” I would never say that revision is failure or punishment—it’s really what every writer does, many times over. The key is to recognize it as an opportunity to figure out what you have learned, what knowledge you have gained so you can build on that and become a better writer. In revision, you see other ideas; you notice what really doesn’t belong in the essay; you take things out; you add things; you restate things. It’s really the beauty of writing and not at all failure.
DR. RYAN HIGGINS
Assistant Professor of Education “Failure” in the classroom demands flexibility, which is a good thing. Lessons can fail if you do not adapt. To me, being wrong is just a chance to reflect. And it’s only when you don’t take that chance to reflect that you’re making the choice to accept being wrong—and not choosing to grow. I’m pretty much an expert on failing since I’ve been doing it for 36 years now. And now I enjoy being wrong more than I do being right, because that’s what makes my life interesting. So, I think we fail only when we don’t recognize it.
CHRIS WILLIAMS
Head Men's Soccer Coach You can either have a growth mindset or a fixed mindset, and that’s the difference between success and failure. Resilience is a huge part of success. Often, students who excel on the field excel in the classroom. It’s that competitive edge—recognizing that you can do better. I find that the better student-athletes are the ones who want to strive—and what they strive for is not perfection, but excellence. I think we fail on a daily basis. And we define failure on an individual basis. What we need to do in order for our students to be expressive, in order for them to test themselves and try new things, is create an environment that is conducive to that.
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T HE OFFICIA L M AG A ZINE OF COKER COL L EG E, H A RT S V IL L E, S .C .
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When students struggle, but they don’t actually tell me—they just choose to walk away and disappear—that, to me, is a sign of failure. Whereas when somebody comes to me and says, “Okay, I know I didn’t do well on this, but here I am. I want to try again”—that’s not failure. What people want to see is that persistence. When you do something wrong, it creates an opportunity to develop. That, I think, is an important part of what we do here.
DR. TRACY PARKINSON
LEARN
LEARN
CLICK HERE
TO WATCH
THE VIDEO 9 | SUMMER
2015
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CONGRATULATIONS, CLASS OF 2015!
On May 16, 2015, 179 new graduates—including the firstLEARN
ever graduates of the Master of Education program—ended their careers as Coker students to begin a new chapter as Coker alumni. Here, business major Brady Bassford ‘15 provides some words of advice to his classmates and fellow graduates as they head out make their mark on the world: “Pope Paul VI once said, 'All life demands struggle. Those who have everything given to them become lazy, selfish, and insensitive to the real values of life. The very striving and hard work that we so constantly try to avoid is the major building block in the person we are today.' Every one of us has come across struggles in the past four years. Hard work and hours in the classrooms, theater, music halls, art rooms and athletic fields have molded each of us into a stronger, more refined and intelligent version of ourselves. As we gather with family, friends and faculty to commemorate the past four years and reminisce about our formative college experience, let us reflect on who we were, who we have become and who we hope to be in the years to come. Coker College has provided us with an excellent education and unique experiences that we might not have found elsewhere. Now, we must ask ourselves how we will apply this knowledge and these experiences in our lives as we move forward. As graduates, we incur a responsibility to our communities, states, country and world, regardless of our particular major. We must use the knowledge we have gained and apply it in our lives to better our world. I encourage fellow graduates and their families to remain active and involved with the Coker community. With our help, Coker can continue to grow and continue to provide students with the great educational experiences and opportunities that molded each one of us into who we are today. As we prepare for our future, as we move into tomorrow, let us hold fast to the beliefs of Pope Paul VI—remembering that without struggle, there is no progress. Progress in our communities and in our world can only happen when educated minds like ours decide to engage in struggles. Go out and change the world!” W W W. C O K E R . E D U
T HE OFFICIA L M AG A ZINE OF COKER COL L EG E, H A RT S V IL L E, S .C .
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ACHIEVE
BEST BANG FOR
THE BUCK ACHIEVE
Coker ranked No. 5 in the Southeast for value Washington Monthly magazine’s “The Other College Guide” has ranked Coker College as No. 5 out of 288 colleges in the Southeast region that deliver the “Best Bang for the Buck.” This marks the third consecutive year that Coker has been included in this particular list. Washington Monthly’s methodology aims to measure the economic value students receive per dollar. The ranking determines which schools are the best value based on "net" (not sticker) price, how well they do graduating the students they admit and whether those students go on to earn at least enough to pay off their loans.
"Students receive a personalized and valuable college experience at Coker,” said Provost Tracy Parkinson. “Thanks to a competitive net price, students benefit from unique educational opportunities without the tuition burdens often associated with private schools. Those opportunities not typically found at larger public institutions include our round-table learning and a highly engaged experience." To better serve incoming students, Coker’s financial aid team provides one-on-one counseling to determine the best financial aid packages available for each individual. At Coker, roughly 95% of students receive some type of financial aid. “I think Washington Monthly recognizes what we have appreciated about Coker for a long time: Coker College provides a transformational education at a great price,” said Steve Terry, vice president for enrollment and contract services. “Our unique round-table approach to
teaching and opportunities for students to become engaged in all aspects of college give students an exceptional experience. It is great to be recognized by Washington Monthly and to be associated with other fine institutions in the Southeast.” “The Other College Guide,” inspired by and including Washington Monthly magazine's signature college rankings, provides a set of guidelines intended to help students find the right school and excel once they get there. The guide ranks schools based on the best available data to answer such questions as: Which schools will charge students a fair price and not bury them in debt? Which help students graduate? Which provide degrees that allow students to earn a decent income? The guide also includes chapters on finding the best-fit schools, making the most of the first year, and the real deal about money, loans and preparing for the world of work.
NET PRICE PER YEAR FOR ALL STUDENTS*
9 $12,
$15
07
COKER COLLEGE
,615
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY
69 $15,
1
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
92 $16,
9
CLEMSON UNIVERSITY
,16 $20
1
WOFFORD COLLEGE
*data from Washington Monthly magazine (washingtonmonthly.com/college_guide/rankings-other-college-guide/best-bang-for-buck-southeast-rank.php)
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NEWS BRIEFS It’s been an eventful semester for Coker College. With continued growth in all areas of campus, the college is making headlines. Here are just a few of the highlights. For full stories and more up-to-date Coker news, visit us online at coker.edu/current-top-stories
ACHIEVE
COKER TO ADD MASTER OF APPLIED CRIMINOLOGY Coker College has announced its third postgraduate degree: a Master of Science in Applied Criminology. The new program will be Coker’s third postgraduate degree and its second degree to be offered primarily via online instruction.
community partnerships. This distinction is the highest federal recognition that colleges and universities can receive for community service, service-learning and civic engagement. Institutions can be recognized in one of four categories: General Community Service, Coker College Provost Tracy Parkinson has been seInterfaith Community Service, Economic Opportunity lected as one of six members of the Advisory Council and Education. Coker was included in the General for the Mellon Global Citizenship Program, a program Community Service category. through the Salzburg Global Seminar that promotes and supports global education. The Mellon Global Citizenship Program aims to deepen and consolidate FOSTER SELECTED TO PARTICIPATE IN the successful global education work initiated with TEACHING INTERFAITH UNDERSTANDING institutions affiliated with the Appalachian College SEMINAR Association and Historically Black Colleges and UniCoker College Associate Professor of English the versities. Rev. John Foster III was selected to participate in the Parkinson has served as Coker’s provost since 2011. He Teaching Interfaith Understanding Seminar, held in holds a B.A. from Carson-Newman College, an M.A. in Boston, Mass., June 21-25.
PARKINSON SELECTED FOR MELLON GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP PROGRAM ADVISORY COUNCIL
“Breaking away from traditional approaches of understanding criminal justice, Coker College's MSAC program develops criminological expertise to inform crime control practices and policy,” said Todd Couch, assistant professor of sociology and criminology at Coker. “Specifically, Coker's MSAC program equips its students with critical criminological insight into diversity issues within the criminal justice system. With this information, graduates of the MSAC program will be better prepared to ad- French and Francophone Studies from the University dress criminal justice concerns in an increasingly diverse of Tennessee and a Ph.D. in Modern Foreign Languagsociety." es and Literatures from the University of Tennessee. He has also completed studies at the American UniThe 15-month program comprises 10 six-week terms, versity of Paris, Cornell University, Salzburg Global and students can enter the program at multiple intervals Seminar and the University of Santiago de Compostethroughout the year. Courses will cover topics including la (Spain). correctional philosophies, crime control tactics and grant writing. Students will also examine how the criminal jus- COKER RECOGNIZED IN PRESIDENT’S tice system relates to gender, race and social class, with 2014 COMMUNITY SERVICE HONOR ROLL ethics and diversity training integrated throughout the program. Courses will be offered entirely online through For the seventh consecutive year, Coker College was technology that incorporates interactive assignments recognized in the President’s Higher Education Comand Coker’s signature discussion-based learning. munity Service Honor Roll as an institution supporting exemplary community service programs. For more information, visit coker.edu/masters. The program is pending approval by the Southern Asso- The honor roll recognizes institutions of higher educiation of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges cation that support community service programs and (SACSCOC). raise the visibility of effective practices in campus
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The seminar is co-hosted by the Council of Independent Colleges and Interfaith Youth Core and supported by a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation. The goal of the seminar is to broaden faculty members’ knowledge and perspective in order to strengthen their teaching of interfaith understanding, develop new courses and other resources as well as encourage the development of a growing network of faculty members who are committed to teaching this subject. Participants examine theoretical questions in regard to teaching interfaith understanding and explore practical ways of translating these ideas into their courses. Foster has been a faculty member at Coker since 1990. He earned his B.A. in English and his M.Ed. with a specialization in English from the University of South Carolina.
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FOCUS ON
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H a r ts v il l e n ative M a r y M or r i son, a member o f th e fir s t M a s ter o f Ed ucati on grad uati ng c l a s s, is m a k in g a difference i n her school a n d h er co m m un it y.
Mary Morrison is a “Hartsvillian” through-and-through. She was born in Hartsville and raised in a house on College Avenue, her father worked at Sonoco, and her mother graduated from Coker’s Adult Degree Program while raising Mary and her four siblings. After raising her own family in Hartsville, Mary now teaches science and math at Carolina Elementary—the same school she attended as child. Even her son Justin is currently pursuing his undergraduate degree at Coker. But Mary is more than just a citizen of her hometown. She’s an active and engaged member of a community she loves. Now, as one of the first 10 graduates of Coker’s Master of Education in Literacy Studies program, she’s giving back to that community—by bringing a focus on literacy into her classroom. Mary’s journey into teaching is different than most. She didn’t have one particular teacher who inspired her to want to teach, nor did she grow up always knowing that teaching was her calling. In fact, it was only after working in banking for 11 years that she began to seriously consider becoming a teacher.
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But her interest in teaching began long before that—with a friend she took a psychology class with in high school. “We were studying together one Wednesday night for our exam, and I realized that I could teach her what her teacher hadn’t been able to do throughout the year," says Mary. "Because I knew her. I thought, you know, I could do that. If I could teach my friend what her teacher couldn’t, all it takes is being in an environment where you can take the time to get to know your students and understand how they learn. And if I could teach her, then I could be a teacher.” After making the decision to pursue teaching, Mary earned her degree in Elementary Education from Coker’s Adult Degree Program in 2008 while working as a teacher’s assistant. As an undergraduate, Morrison was a charter member of the educational honor society, Kappa Delta Pi, received the Department of Education Award, and was in the top 10 in her graduating class. Her classroom philosophy is still shaped by the experience that made her realize she could make a difference as a teacher. “Some things don’t come easy to some people,” she says. “So I strive for that in my classroom— to find as many ways as I can to get the ideas and the process across. What can I relate it to that will mean something to this particular child?” So when Coker announced last year a new master’s program in education, Mary jumped right on board. As a science and math teacher, the Literacy Studies degree wasn’t a typical choice—in fact, she was the only nonEnglish or Language Arts teacher in the program. But she knew that increasing her focus on literacy would give her more ways to reach her students. “You always hear that you want literacy across the content areas,”
she says. “I wanted to see if I was including literacy in my classroom appropriately, and different ways I could do it. How do I implement literacy across the curriculum, and what is the best way? How do you really apply it day-to-day? Those were the questions I had going into it—and I found the answers.” She’s already putting these tools to use in her classroom. When teaching science, she focuses more on vocabulary: “If you know the terms, you can understand the questions, therefore you can answer them correctly,” she explains. No matter the content, she makes sure to provide a wide variety of texts for her students—the more ways to interact with the written word, the better. This year, Mary designed a year-end project for her students where they identified potential career paths and researched how math is used in those fields. “Whatever their interest is, they got to look at that career and see how math ties into the real world,” she says. “It helped them see how the math they’re learning can be useful in their future.” Of course, pursuing a master’s degree while teaching full-time wasn’t an easy task. During the tough moments, she leaned on her friends in the program for support. “We spent a lot of time in the library in the summer on weekends,” she explains. “It was great to be able to talk through everything with friends.” Mary’s cohort had a closed Facebook group they would use to communicate about coursework, projects and deadlines. Mary and three others even started a breakfast group, meeting for breakfast every Friday morning before school. It’s still going strong. She also turned to her professors for encouragement. “A couple of times I went to Dr. Henderson and I was like, ‘I don’t know if I can do it,’” Mary says. “She said,
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Morrison, A Hartsville native and the middle of three generations of Coker students, celebrates her graduation with family.
‘It’s going to get better. Just trust me. And if you have any issues, you can come to me.’ Dr Maxwell was the same way—don’t worry, you’ve got this, we can do it. We were working full-time and they were flexible. They would work with us no matter what.” Now, with her degree in hand, Mary already knows the work was worth it. “The state has announced that all teachers need literacy training, and the districts are going to provide it over the next 10 years,” she says. “Learning something over 10 years—how do you actually apply that in your classroom? I’m glad I went ahead and did this rather than waiting, so that I’m able to start now implementing those vocabulary strategies that are so important.” Not only does she feel more confident and empowered— she’s getting results. This year, Mary was named Teacher of the Year at Carolina Elementary. “This program opened my eyes,” she says, “and I hope to help the other teachers at my school start focusing more on literacy, too.” With another teaching degree from Coker under her belt, Mary is already making a real difference in her hometown—one child at a time.
Morrison receives her diploma from President Robert Wyatt.
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Graduates Brittany Gendron, Morrison, and Julie Hanlin (left to right) relied on each other for support and encouragement throughout the 12-month program.
Members of Coker's first M.Ed. graduating class pose with Susan Henderson, Director of the Wiggins School of Education (far right).
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FINDING ADVENTURE
ABROAD
At the intersection of history and dance, junior Miranda Knorr discovers that adventure comes in many forms.
ENGAGE
Miranda Knorr describes herself as “an only child for a reason.” She admits, grinning, to being a bit of a trouble-maker growing up. “I kind of did my own thing; followed my own rules,” she says. “I’m a little stubborn. When I have something set in my mind, I’m going to do it.” A dance major at Coker, the opinionated and outgoing junior from Rochester, New York, has always had a thirst for adventure. This summer, she had the adventure of a lifetime: two weeks spent in Germany and Poland studying European dance and the Holocaust. What she didn’t know is that the trip would challenge her—both academically and personally—in more ways than she ever imagined.
BORN TO BE A DANCER Miranda is warm and energetic, with an excitement in her voice that suggests a genuine zest for life. “I love to take adventures,” she says. “I like to do things in the outdoors—camping, hiking, snowmobiling, all that.” She played numerous sports growing up, everything from volleyball to soccer to cheerleading. But sometime in middle school, she gave up most of those activities to focus on the one she loved most: dancing. She may have been only two and a half years old, but Miranda vividly remembers her first dance class. Everything down to her little red tutu with polka dots. “I was the girl on stage that just stood there and watched everyone else,” she laughs. She’s very close to her parents, her biggest supporters. But with her independent streak, it makes sense that she chose Coker, a small school far away from her friends and family. “I’ve always wanted to go to school down south,” she explains. “I just always wanted to get away—take on my own adventure; become independent.” Coker specifically interested her because of the care and attention she found in the dance department. “I wanted the special attention, that one-on-one level that a big school wouldn’t be able to give me,” she says. Miranda was a dancer before she arrived at Coker. But it was Coker’s dance program that showed her she could be more. “I was always a performer,” she says. “But it was hard for me to have enough confidence in my work to be able to choreograph something on other bodies besides myself. Coker has really given me the confidence and the knowledge to pursue choreography.” Once Miranda discovered a new talent, she quickly fell in love with being a choreographer. “It allowed me to feel like I had a voice,” she says. “Choreographing my own movement is showing people what I’m really dancing for.” As a choreographer, Miranda says she’s inspired mainly by her personal experiences and emotions. Moving away for college was an adventure in itself, but Miranda is always looking for her next challenge. So when the opportunity arrived to take a summer dance study abroad trip to Germany and Poland, Miranda didn’t hesitate to sign up.
DANCE & THE HOLOCAUST The two-week trip, “Dance and the Holocaust: Memory and Performance in Modern Europe,” was led by history professor Kevin Kenyon and dance professor Angela Gallo. It offered both a dance course and a history course—taught simultaneously as students traveled through Poland and Berlin visiting Jewish sites and Holocaust memorials. The 15 | S U M M E R
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students all traveled and learned together, occasionally breaking off for separate classes or activities. Dance students like Miranda went to additional dance concerts and attended classes taught by European choreographers and instructors. “In my travels, I’ve found that there are a few topics that capture students like no other. And one of those is the Holocaust,” says Kenyon. “This trip really reaches out to students and touches them in an intellectual way. I like the idea of our students leaving Coker with a lifelong intellectual reflex, and I think a trip like this can really bring it to them. We give the students an extra window on life, and hopefully we turn out a bunch of more thoughtful, reflective and intelligent citizens.”
But beyond the academic purpose of the trip, Gallo says the study abroad experience is eye-opening for her students. “This is the third study abroad trip that I’ve done at Coker, and the students— when they come back, something in them has changed, “ she says. “They’re a little more introspective, a little more curious in terms of their research, and I think that exposure to other cultures helps them to think on a broader scale. To think beyond what they already know.” Going into the trip, Miranda knew it was more than the average study abroad trip. She, along with the other dance students, would be collecting research and inspiration for a Holocaust Memorial Dance Concert that they will choreograph and perform in the fall of 2015. For someone so used to drawing inspiration from personal experience, Miranda also knew that creating choreography representing such a momentous historical event would be a challenge. “It’s such a strong subject, so it’s very difficult,” she says. “You don’t want to offend anyone or do the wrong thing.”
But it didn’t take long for Miranda to discover that inspiration—and adventure—were waiting for her. Her most moving experience was when the group visited The Memory Void, a section of Berlin’s Jewish Museum where an installation called Shalekhet (Fallen Leaves) recognizes Holocaust victims with thousands of metal faces strewn in piles on the ground. “When I walked in and I saw faces looking back at me….I was overwhelmed. I was speechless,” she says. “I can look at pictures and I can read descriptions about the ones who were lost. But being in that space ... it’s totally different. It’s real. And it’s raw. Seeing all those faces and the way they were cut out as if they were in fear, and agony, and sorrow—it really affected me. “When people started walking through, the noise was so loud. It reminded me of chaos—all the chaos that happened. Even in the silence, you could still hear chaos. Because there were faces left, just lying there. It gave me chills in the silence more than it did the loudness.” Miranda found herself emotionally affected by the memorials in ways she hadn’t anticipated. But it wasn’t until they visited the Empty Chairs Memorial in Krakow, when, as a dancer, it all came together. The preparation and the knowledge and the raw emotion synthesized into choreographic inspiration. Gallo led her students through a public performance at the memorial. When Miranda saw the empty chairs, symbolizing lives that were lost to the Holocaust, she began to think about individualism. “I started to move, thinking about the fear of the individuals and how some of them didn’t have hope,” she says. “But they were still doing what they had to do. As I stood on the chairs, it represented that they were still going. Even though the fear—they still were doing what they needed to do to stay alive as long as they could.” For strong-willed and independent Miranda, the recognition of victims losing not just their lives, but their individuality—the essence of who they were—became a personal way to relate to a worldwide tragedy. “I decided to choreograph based on the individual victims—how they weren’t able to have their own personalities or be their own selves," she says. "They had to do what they were told and follow strict rules or else they were killed. Everyone should be able to have their own beliefs and their own values, and they weren’t allowed to." To prepare for the concert in the fall, Miranda knows she has a lot of work ahead of her. But she is already itching to translate her experiences into a piece she can be proud of. “Each class we went to, I got more ideas on how to manipulate movement and transition from one to the next,” she says. “Since I started this trip, I have been constantly thinking about my next piece.” Some adventures happen in faraway, exotic places. Some happen in the classroom and the studio. Miranda is ready for them all.
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To prepare for the trip, Gallo led her students through several readings and discussions on European style and dance as social commentary. “Dance is a commentary on what is happening in society, especially in contemporary dance,” she says. “The artists are creating work that is important to them, and it’s often speaking about social or political events that are taking place in their lives. Like many forms of art, dance is a great vehicle for bringing awareness of issues in society to the public.”
THE CHAOS OF SILENCE
ENGAGE
LUCY FISH
RICKY FLOWERS
class of 2014 “Coker gave me a home, a family, and friends I will never forget. I was given opportunities to learn new things that I never thought I would, and it showed me the path of what I wanted to do with my life. Once a Cobra, always a Cobra!”
WHITNEY WATTS
ENGAGE
class of 2008
“My Coker story began in the summer of 2004 and is still being written. I received a great education, played a sport I love, met lifelong friends, found faculty & staff who have become mentors, and discovered my passion. Now I get to help students every day to discover their passion at Coker. We like to describe the Coker community as a family, and it’s true!”
T YLER SENECAL
class of 2013
class of 2013
“I support Coker because it has become a part of my family. My wife graduated from Coker and works there. When we met, she convinced me to try the Adult Degree Program. I accomplished things that I never believed would be possible. Before I graduated, she convinced my mom, sister-in-law, and several friends to go to Coker as well. Now we all share her love of Coker College! It has become a family affair!”
“I couldn’t give enough money to quantify my gratitude toward this institution. Coker allowed me to create lifelong friendships with people from all over the world. Coker also gave me the knowledge and empowerment to thrive in the working world. I highly encourage you to give back to this wonderful institution so that future generations can have the same experiences that I did.”
JEN BORGO
DONNA MOSSER
coker faculty
class of 1987
“My time at Coker began seven years ago. I still remember my first classroom—I was excited and terrified. I have gotten to see more light bulb moments than I could count and I have seen students find their paths. It never gets old. I have found a home in Coker.”
“My Coker story is about family. At Coker, I found faculty who truly cared about me, a college president (Dr. Daniels) who knew every student by name, and lifelong friends including my best friend who became my husband in 1987. In just a couple of weeks, our daughter, Emily, graduates from Coker. Coker will always be a special part of our lives.”
ONE COKER. COUNTLESS STORIES. Every single person in the Coker community has their own individual story: one experience made up of one-of-a-kind moments. When those individuals come together, they can create one powerful impact. On April 30th, 2015, our second annual day of giving, the Coker community came together to raise a grand total of $25,550—surpassing our ambitious $25,000 goal! Thank you to everyone who made this event a success by donating and sharing your Coker story with us. All for one and #OneForCoker! 17 | S U M M E R
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CLICK HERE
TO WATCH OUR #ONEFORCOKER
P L AY L I S T
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CLASS NEWS • Gathered & Written by Class Representatives 1952 Dear “Select Few of ’52,”
aren Johnson Conway is still living in K Gastonia and enjoys frequent trips to see her children and grandchildren in the mountains. She told me swimming several days a week has really helped her back. (Karen, pretend you’re practicing for the May Day swim meet.) Her husband is still in an assisted living facility. arbara Spears Baird lost her husband, B Bob, in November after several years of declining health. Daughter, Jeanne, divides her time between Barbara’s and her art business in Valle Crucis. She is so happy to have her youngest son and his family in the Raleigh area again. I had a nice chat with Vera Wyndham Helmly in Moncks Corner. She has four children, eight grandchildren, and one “great.” Her husband has retired, but still goes to his office every day. She and Bobby have been married 65 years. y daughter, Mary, is still a critical care M nurse at Palmetto Richland in Columbia. Son, Jim, retired last year after 34 years as a biologist with the Army Corps of Engineers. Ann, youngest daughter, still officiates at U.S.T.A. tournaments. Her husband works out of town often, but I have retired as “dog sitter.” y granddaughter, Anna Townsend, is a M sophomore at the University of Kentucky, majoring in biology. She plays flute in the symphony orchestra. Of course, I am a very proud grandmother. etty Lou and I would love to hear from B others in our class. Take a minute to email her or call me. on’t forget to make a contribution to the D Scholarship Fund. Love and bear hugs! “Frankie” The select few of '52 class is getting smaller, so it is important that we keep in touch and help continue to support and discuss our Alma Mater. Recently I enjoyed talking with several of our classmates and will share their news. Wyness Lupo Thomas had a book, "Fruits of the Second Riding Missionaries," which is a history of the first six churches of the Waccamaw Baptist Association, published. The Tilly Swamp Baptist Church in Conway, SC, is selling the books if anyone might be interested in obtaining a copy. I am sure we are very proud of Wyness' accomplishments. W W W. C O K E R . E D U
Dot Garrell Hanna and Herb are doing well and are glad to have their daughter and family living nearby. Dot's sister, Sarah, has had some eye problems and her husband has had heart surgery recently. We hope and pray for them to have a fast recovery. We would like to extend our sympathy. Betty Wray Jones and I had a nice visit by phone and she is doing well now. We are glad that we can keep in touch and hope to visit again soon. Betty Barclay
1953 Hello, Classmates! It’s a beautiful spring day today!!! When the weather is sunny and the temperature is in the 70’s, I’m inspired to write. Again, I reminisce about our days like this when we were at Coker. Jennie Herlong Boatwright and I are looking forward to getting together on April 24 at Bizzell’s with some of you—those of you who are able. It’s always exciting for us to have food, fellowship, and fun! After lunch, we will go over to Pat Chapman Huff’s house to have dessert. Let me back track a little and take up where Pat left off in October of 2014. Betty Jean Lee Hunsinger, Charlena “Charlie” Chewning, Pat and I got together for lunch in Hartsville. We then went to Pat’s house and played “3-13.” We haven’t been getting together as much for several reasons. Charlie has had some health issues, and Betty Jean has been taking care of her friend Dwight Hyman as he has been seriously ill and in the hospital for many months. Also my friend Ed Haigler has fallen three times with broken bones. Then he had bronchitis. He’s feeling much better now. Recently, I had a good phone chat with Fran Worley Bond. She took care of her dear husband at home for about the last year of his life. Dr. John L. Bond, Jr. passed away on January 13, 2015. He was a wonderful husband and doctor. Fran is going to the “Y” for exercise and she has been involved in a Bible Study. She needs our prayers as she grieves now.
Sarah Sampson Bell’s husband, James, “Buddy” as she called him, passed away December 24, 2014. His funeral was on December 27. Pat, Pat’s daughter, Nancy Caulder, and B.J. went to his service. James was very much involved with the University of North Carolina in Pembroke, NC. He was responsible for getting a football program started there. Please keep Sarah in your prayers and thoughts. My friend Ed invited me to Dutch Fork Baptist Church in the fall of 2013. Shortly after I joined a Sunday School class, they invited me to teach the Bible. I was so honored to get back into teaching again. I really enjoy studying to teach. My biggest news is I’m a “great” grandmother now! Ryan Douglass Gilligan was born on March 2, 2015 to Patrick and Katie Gilligan. His grandmother is Lettie Matthews Gilligan ’77. So now she is a grandmother for the first time! Lettie and Tom live in Kansas City, MO. The baby lives in Phoenix, AZ. Lettie will be going there soon for a second time. I’m going to get a ticket to fly there! I need to hold little Ryan before he gets too big. Pat has some more news as she’s talked to a good many of our classmates recently. Until next time I want to let you know I love each of you. Mitzi Hey to all of you, Mitzi’s beautiful spring day for writing her news is totally unlike mine. My writing is on a rainy stay-at-home day as I reflect on yesterday’s mini-reunion. Peggy Warren Smith and Jay at first planned to come but decided, since Peggy had experienced a bad fall and spent time in the hospital and rehab, that making the trip from Jacksonville, Florida was not a good idea. Daphen Yarborough Edge responded and could not come. Her husband A.J. had blood pressure problems and did not need to be left alone. Daphen had talked to Fran Worley Bond several times since her husband John’s death. Beth DuBose Cottingham likewise called to express regret about not being able to come. She and Walter both had a virus that left them in a weakened condition. Originally Beth had planned to come and bring Jo Anne Boyd Sires. Mickey McDowell called to say he could not be with us. His daughter Cindy’s work prevented her from driving him from Clemson. Perhaps some of you saw the newspaper article or on Facebook about Mickey’s daughter, Vickie Carter. She received a national award for her outstanding work and service with Texas Instruments. She has taught math subjects for many years at West Florence High School where she has achieved great success. I know Anne McDowell would be so proud, for that was Anne’s expertise also.
Chuck Cottingham also called to say he had already made plans and could not be with us. Now to yesterday and our mini-reunion: Nine of us had lunch at Bizzell’s downtown and afterwards dessert at my house. Sarah Sampson Bell, accompanied by her son, Gregg (we all thanked him for “driving Miss Daisy”), Jennie Herlong Boatwright, Mitzi DuPre Matthews, Charlie Chewning, Betty Jean Lee Junsinger, Dee Pierce and Dan Shanks from the college and I were there. Sarah and Gregg told us of the honors that had been bestowed on Sarah’s husband, James (Buddy) recently. In January the University of North Carolina at Pembroke awarded the family James’s framed jersey with his name and number on it. At the awards banquet in April, the college presented the “Buddy Bell Rebounding Award” to the top rebounder on the basketball team. Sarah and her family were all present for this presentation. Jennie shared news of Phillip's and their family and of her involvement in church work. Mitzi was bubbling over with descriptions of her first great-grandchild, all from pictures because he lives so far away. She can hardly wait to visit him. Charlie gave us an update on her multiple health problems and thanked God for being able to do the things she does. She appreciates the calls from Joyce Bell, Barbara Lowery Mims, Betty Jean, and me. Betty Jean had just returned from a grandson’s wedding in San Antonio and will be going soon to a granddaughter’s graduation. Lauren will be receiving her PhD from Purdue University and will begin teaching at George Mason University. Congratulations to her and her husband, who will also be receiving his PhD. I told of my new great-granddaughter, Emmie Pace Huff, born January 16 in Greenwood, and the expected arrival of a great-grandson in July. My granddaughter, Erin Stewart Floyd, who married last October, became pregnant on their honeymoon in Jamaica. I was a shocked but happy person when she and Dusty made the announcement! Dee Pierce gave each of us a lovely Golden Circle pin which is awarded to graduates of 50 years or more. She announced the total of our Endowed Scholarship Fund. You won’t believe our total is $54,496.76! Aren’t we so proud with the success of this? If you come to Hartsville, the new DeLoach Center is open Monday through Friday. You will be amazed! Some of you will remember Bootsie Hurst who was several years behind us. In 2014 she lost her husband, Ladd Owens, who was my Carl’s roommate at Clemson, and a short time later she lost a daughter. We
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ow wonderful that spring is finally here! I H hope each of you had a healthy winter, and no falls or broken bones. I had a telephone “visit” with Jane Woodward Truett. She is almost back to normal after her stroke. She told me how nice the Golden Circle reception was at the president’s home. Betty Lou had planned to go, but wasn’t feeling well that day.
Leatrice Margolin Weiner's granddaughter is graduating from Brown Medical School in May. She will take part in Liberia medical missions, Seattle, with specialty in pediatrics. Her fiance will also graduate at the same time and is first in the class. Leatrice is now teaching a creative writing class with 13 students in the class. She enjoys this very much. She also had the opportunity to visit and discuss with the students the way Coker was during the '50s. One thing she pointed out is that today, students don't have to eat with a faculty member at each table. She also attended the event for Coker grads who graduated 50 or more years ago. This was held at the president's home.
•
ADVANCE offer our sympathy to Bootsie. Betty Jean and I have plans to visit with her. She still lives in Sumter, but now in a retirement community.
Dec. and Jan. in Florida! Hopefully, with the warm weather and sunshine, I will be able to avoid the “germs” that I run into in Spartanburg during the holidays.
When we were freshmen, how we idolized members of the senior class. They were all so smart and so lovely and truly lived out Coker’s “Character, Culture, and Christian Service” motto.
My grandchildren are all growing up as many of yours are, too. Twins Sarah Glenn and Charles graduate from Coastal Carolina and Clemson in May. We are excited that Sarah Glenn (a marine science major) will be doing an internship in Bermuda at Dolphin Quest. She has been in love with dolphins since she was 5 years old. Charles is going to Spain to teach English for a year or two because he needs time between undergraduate school and graduate school. Trey (Chip’s son) has been accepted at USC law school. He wants to focus on child advocacy. I do not have room to write about my other four grandchildren now!!!”
Willie Calcutt Saleeby was one of those seniors. She now resides in Still Hopes in West Columbia. She lost her son Edward this year. He was a well-known lawyer in our town. Willie, we love you and send our sympathy and prayers.
ADVANCE
Another senior was June Reynolds Allston who was in the Beauty Court, I remember. June lost her husband, Joe, a few weeks ago. June, our sympathy and love are with you and your children. Pam Huggins Chapman, who married my brother Henry, was another of those outstanding seniors. She was class president, and I remember that she crowned Lillian Dillard Stephens queen at May Day. I miss this tradition, but now the classes have their own traditions. Pam and I talk often and see each other at family events. Class of ’50, we love you. How I wish each of you could see the growth and beauty of Coker. It is unbelievable what has taken place since we graduated. You would be very proud of the college we all loved. Remember now! We aren’t stopping with our Endowed Scholarship Fund. Now we can set our goal for $60,000. We are leaving our mark on Coker College! The people there and all around are going to remember the Class of 1953. I love you and your love for the college, Pat Chapman Huff
1957 Dear Class of '57, Here I go again—trying to eke out a little news of our class. I see Murray McDonald, Almena Gainey Galloway, and Fran Moore Cauthen at lunch once a month—they are well. Ann Gay Blakeney Duvall has moved from The Methodist Manor to live with her daughter. The only thing else I know to tell you is what I have been doing!! So, you had better send me some news! I went to Ireland in November and it was as green and beautiful as advertised. Stayed one night at Dromoland Castle. WOW!! What an experience! Just returned from a riverboat cruise that started in Switzerland, went up the Rhine River and ended in Amsterdam. Never thought I would see so many places and things we studied in Civ. Thanks, Dr. D.!! Hope all is well with all of you. REMEMBER THE GOOD TIMES!!! Lynn
1958 Betty Barnes Walpole writes: “I have big news to share. I am to be married on April 25th. I am marrying my high school sweetheart, Jim Weller, this month. We reconnected a couple of years ago. Jimmy is from Charlotte and is making plans to move to my home in Spartanburg. He loves to cook and grill, so we will see if my kitchen is big enough, but are talking about the possibility of expanding it. Because I have had respiratory problems for three years, after Christmas we are going to spend next
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Connie Booker Moe writes: “I was in SC with my daughter and on Saturday, Oct. 11, I went to see Helen Kolb Chambless. She looks great having had a serious operation at the end of July. The campus looks amazing. There is a lot of building going on. (A Hampton Inn is being built almost at the campus. It's sort of across the street from the Fairfield Inn.) There are several new dormitories across from the main campus and I gather they are to look like the Olympic Village. Don and I took a 4 ½ week long car trip out to the Seattle, WA area for a Moe family reunion in August/September. Loooong trip! We decided not to try that again. We do listen to books; however, it's a long time to be in a car and moving in and out of motels night after night. I had another ankle replacement surgery at the end of January, 2014. This one turned out beautifully. The young doctor is so pleased and proud! Our son was not impressed with my decision to have the surgery. His comment was, 'Why not, the first one ended so well.' So I have an artificial leg—it works great. We plan to take a river cruise in Portugal in May 2015. That will be a very pleasant trip!” Annette Cooke Stokes says, “Our family continues to expand. Our Phyllis married David Villanoueva in Port Arthur August 23. He is crazy about her, and that pleases us. He has a grown daughter and Phyllis's three are grown and married, so they are enjoying life with adult children at the moment. Our Cile married Terri on December 1 in Maui, Hawaii, and they continue jobs as usual, plus opening a spa rental salon in Longview, never a dull moment.” Katie Thomason Ballenger writes: “The week following Easter, Isam and I joined friends from Richmond and visited Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. The weather was cold and wet, but the conservatory at Longwood Gardens is magnificent, so we stayed inside and enjoyed the beauty of many different plants and flowers. Another day was spent touring Winterthur, the mansion of Henry Francis du Pont. While he was still living, du Pont moved into a smaller residence and oversaw the transformation of his large house into a museum to display his many collections. Another day we toured the Brandywine River Museum, where we saw paintings of N.C. Wyeth, Andrew Wyeth and Jamie Wyeth, who lived and worked in the area. The house and studio of Andrew Wyeth provided another interesting tour. I give credit to Dr. Davidson and her enlightening Civilization courses for my appreciation of art and many other subjects!” Connie Booker Moe says, “No real news here, except that Don and I are headed to Portugal in May. It'll be a river cruise. Why are we going? We've never been
there! I’m still having fun with our three grandchildren: Joseph, 11, his sister Ellie, 9, and 8-year-old Mary. We go to plays together and this week the ballet with Mary and our son.” Mary Kay Rickenbaker writes: “My grandchildren are now young adults— the youngest is 21. I live in a very social neighborhood, so I do always seem to have something to do—play bridge, go out to lunch, and go out to dinner—lots of eating!!!! I am glad to have a lot of friends here and continue to enjoy living on the lake. I do not take it for granted. Each morning when I look out and see the beautiful surroundings, I am thankful. I also enjoy my church and am still active there. Hello to everyone and hope good things are happening to you. Love to all.” James Lamar Caldwell, Jr. says he hasn't had any contact with class members lately. “Have been busy the last few weeks with yard work. It seems to be never-ending. Really pays off though, because our yard is just full of azaleas that are in full bloom. We have red, white, purple and pink azaleas. The weather has been kind to them this year, and they are really beautiful. We’ve had them since back in the sixties, and Lucy has them pruned so that they are tall and bushy. Blueberries are forming, and it looks like we’ll have another bumper crop of those this year. We cut our peach trees way back so I’m not looking for any home grown peaches this year. Means less spraying for me. Have to replace a few of my roses that age has caught up with, so that’s ahead of me. My rose garden looks a little pitiful right now. Anybody who hasn’t been to Coker College in the past couple of years will be surprised at all the changes there. More are on the way, but many things still look the same.”
greatly enjoyed driving a very fancy vehicle he showed her, but, as much as she admired it, she did not take it home. Now that the guestroom is empty, others can occupy it, and she and Warren plan to do that for a few days in June during which they’ll take in a few Piccolo Spoleto events. Barbara Dibble Dixon’s Facebook page features an interesting picture at the top: Husband Bubber reclines flat on the floor with his head pointing one way, and dog Lulu lies in her bed on the other side of him, also reclining on her back with head pointed in the other direction! Instead of seeing Barbara’s picture in the inset, we see Lulu, wearing a pretty red bow in her fuzzy black fur. This tells us who’s important in Barbara’s world! Another picture on the page features the thriving Dixon vegetable garden. Clearly, Barbara and Bubber, who recently celebrated a 23rd anniversary, are going to eat well this summer. Bubber’s daughter, her husband, and their granddaughter have moved from Charlotte to Newport Beach, CA, making visitation more of a challenge. Bubber says he is NOT flying to the west coast—but perhaps that will work itself out with time. Molly Creadick Gray’s granddaughter Claire, despite migraines that kept her homebound through much of her senior year, is graduating with honors from Parkland High School in Allentown, PA, on June 9. Molly and Pete can’t be there since back problems have limited Pete’s mobility, but they plan to watch the ceremony through online streaming. While the back problems have kept both Grays spending more time at home than they would like for a number of months, the situation seems to be improving. Pete recently enjoyed celebrating his 86th birthday by taking a short walk without his cane.
Note: If you are not getting emails from me, please send me your email address: susan. shumaker@comcast.net. Some of you have changed your address and my messages bounce back as undeliverable. You can also call me at 615-352-5732. Let's keep in touch!
Doris Kirk Miller was proud to attend her grandson’s graduation from medical school this year. Another grandson just completed his freshman year at a university where he played football. Her son is a high school principal; her daughter is an animal rights activist married to a US Air Pilot.
Susan Shumaker
Bonnie Cone Sawyer, Faye Gurley Reynolds, and Elizabeth Whittle Baxter enjoyed a delightful trip to historic Savannah in April with a tour group, and the same three had much fun later in the month in Elizabeth’s condo at Wild Dunes on the Isle of Palms.
1959
We were all deeply saddened by the death from cancer of our classmate Barbara Roney Whittington in February. When I think of Barbara, she is pictured in my mind wearing a pair of tap shoes—I’m sure all of us have fond memories of this good friend. As I write this, Jean Youngblood Ritter’s husband Curtis is in hospice care at home. He has had leukemia and had become terribly thin and very tired. Fortunately, both sons live in Birmingham and can easily be called upon for support. Classmates have offered many prayers for the family as they deal with this difficulty. In other not-good news, Sharon Bennett Gregory fell and broke her hip. After three weeks in the hospital, she is at home, getting regular visits from a physical therapist. We hope she will soon be up and doing something fun! In February, Mary Holmes Burkett visited daughter Laine and family with the intent of seeing whales—and did! They sailed in San Diego Bay and a pod came quite near to the boat. The Carters, who sail often, had seen whales many times, but this was a first for Mary. Grandson Ian Carter, who had lived with Mary for a while, remains in Charleston, but in his own quarters. He’s working for a BMW dealership and Mary
Jim and Pat Crawford Fields usually try to take one major trip each year and this time it was Switzerland in the spring. They had lovely weather and of course a great time. Ann Grainger Hinson downsized to a new house in Longs, SC, which is between North Myrtle Beach and Loris, in the same neighborhood as her daughter Penelope. She feels very much at home and enjoys having Penelope in and out more often. Her other daughter, Angelyn, still lives in Charlotte as does her only granddaughter, Ann Margaret, who is, she says “sweet sixteen and loves school—especially drama club.” Ann visits them in Charlotte and they make it to the beach as often as they can. Frank and Katie Huggins Hennecy are also acquiring new quarters, but they are not changing their address. They are enclosing the carport to create a family room, changing the old family room to a breakfast room, and adding a garage and another bedroom. In the meantime, their front yard is filled with broken cement from the old driveway, various piles of dirt, and an assortment of vehicles and equipment. Frank enjoys supervising the process while W W W. C O K E R . E D U
Katie says she will be a happy woman when it’s finished. Anne Davis Glass reports that not much has changed in her busy life except that the Episcopal church where she has played the organ for 50 years is searching for a new rector. Anne doubtless has much to do to initiate the interim, who will be there until someone permanent is found. She hopes to visit SC this summer but not in June because she is committed to two weddings, a recital with a tenor, and a concert commemorating an African-American composer, Clarence Cameron White, who was born in Clarksville, TN (where Anne lives), and never forgot his hometown.
Holly Mims Westcott
1960
(Names listed from left to right) First Row: Nell Gardner Copeland, June Ergle Melton, Ann Matthews Bragdon, Phyllis Byrd Blackman, Judy Watson Dew Second Row: Barbara Singletary Bryan, Janette Oliver Benoist, Sherrill Jordan, Laura McLeod, Anne Hancock Third Row: Clarabel Ching Jordan, Barbara Pittman Hinson, Sissy Cothran Lachicotte, Evelyn Parsons Weaver, Beverly Touchberry Dear classmates, For those of you who didn't make our 55th class reunion, you were missed and you missed a good time. Arriving for Friday night activities were: Jeanette Oliver Benoist, Phyllis Byrd Blackman and Ned, Ann Matthews Bragdon, Nell Gardner Copeland and Larry, Judy Watson Dew, Anne Hancock, Sherrill Jordan, Sissy Cothran Lachicotte, Laura McLeod, June Ergle Melton and Buddy, Evelyn Parsons Weaver and Tom, and Beverly Touchberry. A 5:00 pm drop-in at President Robert Wyatt's home kicked off the Friday night events. We were each given a golden circle lapel pen to signify membership in the Coker College Golden Circle. This honor is extended to anyone who graduated from Coker at least 50 years ago. A special thanks to Phyllis Byrd Blackman and Sherrill Jordan who made the decision for the Italian buffet. The food was just delicious. We enjoyed a 6:00 pm seated dinner in the drawing room. Joining us for Saturday activities on campus were Barbara Singletary Bryan, Barbara Pittman Hinson, and Clarabel Ching Jordan. During our class session, Cheryl Jordan read a very sweet and touching letter from Louise Atkinson Cleveland still recovering from a lengthy illness. Sympathy is extended to family and friends of Edwenia Carraway Turner, who passed away September 17, 2014. Our class was hit W W W. C O K E R . E D U
My best to each of you, Ann Matthews Bragdon
1962 As usual, our classmates are listed in alphabetical order using the last names we had when we were classmates. This news is submitted in mid-April and the next will be due in mid-October. Thanks especially for those of you who are good enough to share any of your news. Please remember to forward news of classmates with whom you keep in touch and let me hear of any changes in your (and their) contact information. Please also keep Coker College in your giving plans. Our donations mean a great deal and are important for current and future students as well as for college rankings as shown in U.S. News & World Report, The Princeton Review, Parchment. com and Washington Monthly Magazine. Unfortunately, Linda Oliver Huggins' husband, Johnnie, died in December 2014. A group of our classmates got together for a mini-reunion during Alumni Weekend at Coker on April 10th and 11th. In fact, I received a telephone call from the attendees on Friday, and they must have had a wonderful time! Everyone was talking a mile a minute, laughing and giggling the way we always have. Gayle Brandt Faust, Charlotte Cothran Taylor, Brenda Cromer Miller, Carol Elting Richardson, Judy Griggs, Molly Holbrooke Birchler, Ida Pace Storrs, Betty Saunders Brooking, Frances Segars Kelly and Peggy Ziegler Reeves were there. Molly did a wonderful job organizing everything and reports that when they returned to the hotel lobby after dinner, they bumped into about 10 members of the class of 1960 and she so enjoyed visiting with them. Sara Anderson Kummer and her sister, Charlotte Anderson Ross '60, are on their trip to Sicily and Malta as I write. Sara sent an email on March 21st from the Philadelphia airport as they were waiting for their flight to Palermo via Rome. I received a wonderful Christmas/New Year's letter from Sara with lots of good news and some wonderful photographs of Sara, her daughters Katherine and Liz and three grandchildren. Each looks as though she or he is in Anderson and all live nearby. Sara enjoys gardening and has become a Master Gardener. She is also active at church as a member of the choir, the altar guild and serves as a Eucharistic minister, helping with the youth and occasionally cooking. Gail Arnette Sinclair and I just had a wonderful telephone visit. She says the flowers and plants in Camden are just beautiful after a long, chilly and wet winter. Her good friend Peggy McCue Freymuth left yesterday after a wonderful three-day visit with the Sinclairs. The girls talked and talked until after midnight both nights, and so it seems they had a very mini reunion
that was indeed precious while other classmates were meeting in Hartsville. Gail's daughter, Sharon, is well and very busy. Her granddaughter, Amanda, still enjoys working for the bank where she has worked for quite a few years. Mary Bell Kittle and Joe have been really busy this year. They have just finished with wall repairs (shifting foundations because of marine clay) and painting most of the house. Their lives have been total chaos for several months. "The rugs are still at the cleaners, but the living room curtains are up. Most of the art is rehung but it is still dusty and feeling unsettled." Poor Joe has had minor surgery, so Mary has been trying to manage most of the hauling and lifting. Sherrie Berry Wolski ordered an InMotion Rower machine and after spending 45 minutes putting it together, she began "rowing" in her house for exercise and loves it. So, of course, I decided to order one for my son's birthday present and when he finally built it, he tried it and says he will let me help haul it up five flights to his apartment, which is 24 blocks away from mine, so he will be able to enjoy some nice workouts every day. In fact, I loved trying it out and may buy one for myself. Peggy Brown Buchanan and husband John came to New York City for meetings in November, and we were able to see the special Matisse exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art and enjoy having dinner nearby. John officially retired as Bishop in Illinois at the end of December so their trips to Illinois have ceased. They are very happy to have moved into the Bishop Gadsden Life Care Retirement Center in Charleston and enjoy having made many good friends there. Their twin grandchildren have been preparing for Confirmation and their family joined Peggy and John for Easter brunch after church. Then Peggy and John headed for Kanuga in the NC mountains for a few days. Brenda Cromer Miller has discovered that several Winnsboro friends also attended Coker, Larens McMaster Livings '59 and Alice Helms Rice '64 and a wonderful masseuse. Each of these women remembers her days at Coker fondly. This year Brenda has been actively part of a group of citizens trying to save an old school building from the wrecking ball. The campus of Mt. Zion Institute is historic as it has been an educational site since 1777, even having had encampments of both Revolutionary and Civil War soldiers. British General Cornwallis spent his “winter of discontent” in headquarters across the street. Hopefully her group will find an adaptive reuse for this site. If anyone is interested in this effort check out the website: http:// www.mtzioninstitute.com. Brenda is busy chairing a Home and Garden tour to be held on May 16, 2015, that will raise funds for the restoration. Her house and garden will be open so she is working hard to prepare. Wish we all could attend. In the midst of all this, she has also decided to sell her house in Winnsboro and move back to Spartanburg. She has been going through attics and closets. It is amazing how much stuff can accumulate in one house. Carol Elting Richardson is taking a new and improved breathing medication and sounds wonderful and strong. She has just returned from a wonderful trip to visit her daughter in Las Vegas. Gayle Faust Brandt writes that she has been leading a "homebody" life and is hoping that now that the weather is improving, she will be able to successfully
plan what to plant in her garden. She has already worked in quite a few Boston ferns, which seem to do well in her shady yard. Ida Pace Storrs dropped by for a nice visit to catch up. Gayle is thankful for each day she is given and tries to live each day fully. She really enjoys belonging to two bridge clubs. Edith Ganelle Watts is looking forward to returning to her mountain summer home in Linville Land Harbor, NC. She has been reading a lot and loves to relax by doing handwork like knitting and crocheting. Edith recently returned from a nice visit in Leesburg, VA, with her niece Dana and family. Dana is the daughter of Edith's sister, Betty Ann, who died in 1986. Dana lived with Aunt Edith for her high school years and beyond, so they have always been very close. When Dana lived and got married in Hawaii, Edith went for the wedding and has wonderful memories of paragliding there and making her niece pretty nervous. Edith attended the funeral of Johnnie Huggins (husband of Linda Oliver Huggins) and saw quite a few friends connected to Coker. She and Johnnie had been close neighbors and good friends since they were very young. Molly Holbrooke Thomas Birchler wrote that she and Al were delighted to have his children and their families join them in Southern Pines for the Christmas holidays. Molly has been really busy arranging to have a few classmates meet at Coker for a mini-reunion April 10th and 11th. Beverly Jones Dinkins is now busy as property manager for the Swan Lake Apartments in Summerville, where besides working in her office from 9 am-12 noon, she is on call 24 hours a day. She sends hugs to all, is so grateful to have fond memories of our Coker days and would really like to join us for our 55th in 2017. Karen A. Mansfield unfortunately had a bad cold in chilly Chicago when she and Peggy Brown Buchanan were hoping to meet last November. Peggy McCue Freymuth and I had a lovely catch-up chat and she was hoping to be able to make it to join everyone at the mini-reunion, but instead was able to visit her dear friend, Gail Arniette Sinclair, in Camden. Daughter, Anne Beame, became engaged in Central Park, NYC, while enjoying the horse-drawn carriages. Granddaughter, Tanner, loves acting and dancing and is hoping to be accepted into a high school that specializes in the arts. Grandson Harleigh is in his first year of high school. Time really flies. Harriet King van Norte wrote to let us know that Linda Oliver Huggins' husband died in December. The girls were roommates at Coker. Harriet and a good friend were heading to Amsterdam to see the Keukenh of Gardens this April, when the bulbs and other flowers should be beautiful. They plan to visit various museums and to take a canal excursion while there. She mentions that on the home front, the endless disposal of years of accumulated paper, clothing and "treasures" continues, with which we can all sympathize. Linda Oliver Huggins' husband, Johnnie, unfortunately died on December 1, 2014. Linda enjoys living in her house in Lumberton and loves her yard and gardening. She also enjoys her beach cottage at North Myrtle Beach whenever the mood and time are right. Her daughter was named for Harriet King van Norte, lives in Cary and has two daughters of her own.
T HE OFFICIA L M AG A ZINE OF COKER COL L EG E, H A RT S V IL L E, S .C .
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ADVANCE
Pat Crawford Fields and I appreciate all you do to keep us informed so that we can tell our classmates about the events in your lives. Please keep on doing it! Both of us love to hear from you, and we want to share your news with others. Thanks for the part you play in this!
hard during the month of September 2014, as that was the same month of the deaths of Pam Binnicker and Ann Parker Gallop. Hopefully we can plan an off year reunion in the next two to three years, which can include more of you who were not able to attend our 2015 reunion. Please let your wishes be known to us. Laura McLeod has graciously agreed to help write the class column for the Commentary. The next news is due October 15. Please get your news to: Ms. Laura McLeod, 5226 Mulholland Drive, Summerville, SC, 29485; or call her at 843–821–9673 or 703–969–6724. You may also reach her by email at alauramcleod@ aim.com.
ADVANCE Claire attended Coker last year but returned closer to home to attend Wake Technical Community College in Raleigh. Harriet's other daughter is studying at N.C. State. When Linda finished her years at Coker, she got married and helped her husband as secretary in his automobile business as well as homemaking and child rearing. Caroline Quick Zweidler sent an email saying she wished she could join the group in April and knows how much fun it would be. She sends love to all.
ADVANCE
Betty Saunders Brooking was good enough to call in mid-February. In December, Betty and Hurley sold their house in Florence and have moved into a smaller house. She has taken quite a few trips with family and friends and sounds so well and happy. Frances Segars Kelley brought her daughter and granddaughters to New York City at the end of December. They had a great time and it was interesting to see what the different ages wanted to do while here. They were so busy I was not able to see them, but it was cold and they were mad-dashing so we spoke by telephone a few times. After their return home, Frances mailed a most beautiful, colorful and warm scarf she so kindly knitted to keep me warm for the rest of this long winter. This was so sweet and thoughtful, and she mentioned that they even had a little snow and ice in Hartsville. Eleanor Sharpton Pitts wrote that she is alive and well and regrets that she is unable to attend the mini-reunion. Flo Staklinski Taylor and husband Bill borrowed Bill's 97-year-old mother (very alert but fragile) for a week and had such a good time. Flo still works at the Atlanta Apparel and Gift Shows, which she enjoys. She and Bill continue to be active playing tennis, reading and volunteering with the St. Vincent de Paul Society. They enjoyed rooting for the UNC basketball team, of course. Joanne Tuten Bellamy has been her wonderful, kind and supportive self this winter. Two friends have died and Joanne has been helping their family members, who all live far away and have had so much to handle. In the process Joanne prevented two beautiful English Sheepdogs previously owned by one of these friends from being sent to a shelter. She has adopted them, and at this point these new interlopers are being slowly introduced to her own three dogs. Thank goodness she has a really big yard. Bruce Williams and Mary Frances '64 are well and planning two wonderful trips. In May, they are taking a Moselle River Cruise from Bruges and Amsterdam through Germany and into Switzerland. In October they plan to set sail on a cruise from San Diego to Hawaii and the South Pacific Islands, including Bora Bora. I look forward to a report about these trips. Bruce has become really interested in reading good books about American history. Nancy Wilson must have been really happy to have wintered in warm Phoenix. Mary Anne Wycliff Johnson wrote to say she would love to attend the mini-reunion, but she lives in Phoenix, AZ, and we will have to hope she will be able to join us for our 55th in April 2017. She participated in a big Wood Carving Show in Mesa, AZ, in mid-April, helping those with carvings to submit and teaching children the joys of carving in soap.
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Well, I am sure we all are looking forward to warmer days ahead, although by the time the next Commentary arrives, it really will be summer. It means and helps so much to hear from you and I do thank you for your calls, emails and letters. May you all have lovely reunions with family and friends and please remember to keep in touch. I send very best wishes and lots of love to each of you,
December, and again in February, spending time with their grand girls. Barbara had a good season with her weaving, selling through two shows and two galleries. Jim is retired now and they are heading for Sullivan’s Island for two and a half weeks.
Gaby Morandiere
Last September Margaret Brown Young and husband Jimmy took a 19-day trip, driving almost 5,000 miles! They visited Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, where they enjoyed riding their bikes on the Trans-Canada trail and taking beautiful hikes. On Prince Edward Island they stayed in a wonderful inn where Prince William and Kate had stayed on their official visit to Canada a few years ago. They also visited Acadia National Park in Maine and the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. She commented that she felt like Dinah Shore: ”See the USA in your Chevrolet,” except it was in a Honda Odyssey!
1963 Nan Warren Clarke has been a busy traveler on a trip to New York with granddaughters Loryn, a college sophomore, and Colleen, a 17-year-old. Dr. Grannis would be pleased to know that they went to see Les Miserables. Nan was pleased to report that Colleen played Mary Magdalene in a high school production of Godspell. The Warren clan of five siblings and their families met at James Island the day before Easter for a family reunion. In May, Erskine and Nan will attend the Spoleto Festival and in September they will visit the Tetons and Yellowstone Park. Carol Phillips Kirven’s mother, Marjorie Brunk Phillips Nettles, Coker Class of 1940, is 95 and doing wonderfully. She is the longest living member of First Baptist Church of Sumter, 1931, and was the first resident of Covenant Place, a Sumter retirement home, in 1994. Carol’s aunt, Virginia Brunk Shirley, Coker Class of 1943, is 93, still lives alone, drives, and keeps her own house and yard. Carol is hoping that those genes are passed on. Carolyn Hawkins Hopper is living in the North Carolina mountains with Robert, a retired Methodist minister. Presently she is ministering to Robert due to a challenging knee replacement. He has had a long physical therapy journey and is on a walker. Before Robert’s knee troubles Carolyn drove to Duluth, Minnesota, with a friend whose daughter has an 80-acre homestead in northern Minnesota. Additionally, she and her friend traveled over the headwaters of the Mississippi River and walked across it. She reports that it was a wonderful trip and she saw country she had never seen. Later in the summer she traveled with three friends to New England, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. She shares that grandchildren, Caroline and Mason, are in kindergarten and first grade. What fun ages! I was pleased to hear from Anna Phillips Chandler. She told me that her granddaughter, Madeline, is traveling to the Dominican Republic on a mission trip this summer. Her father, Trey Chandler, a cardiologist, is traveling with her. Mary, another grandchild, has won state awards in cross-country. Grandson, Matthew, is a busy seventh grader. Anna is happy to report that her health is good after her back operation. Nancy McConnell Wilhelm and Budgy celebrated their 54th anniversary on April 3rd and are enjoying their life together. They are thankful for good health and having both of their children living nearby. They welcome you to come by if you’re at Surfside. Barbara Holmes Willis and Jim have thawed enough for Barbara to share news! They survived one of the three coldest New England winters on record and Boston had the most snow ever… 110.6 inches. They were fortunate to visit California in
Madeline Theus McKenzie continues to enjoy her time with her grandchildren. She recently went to Costa Rica with her daughter’s family for a wonderful vacation.
Good news comes from Tammie Caskey McGuire! Her daughter Teri and husband Marc will have their second child, Sawyer William, on May 1st. They will have their hands full with a new baby and an 18-month-old girl, Dorie Lee. They reside in Clearwater, Florida. Tammie’s son, Mac, and his wife, Krista, are nearer Tammie in James Island. Tammie also reports that Mac was diagnosed with cancer in the lymph nodes a year ago last October. 32 lymph nodes were removed, massive radiation was given and, once again, he is back to being the old Mac he used to be. Carol Hooks Pittman and Jerry had a wonderful trip to Crete last May and plan another trip there in September 2015. Last May’s trip was their 20th trip to Crete. The September trip will be for a christening and wedding of their Greek friends’ grandchildren. Camp Yaya was enjoyed at Wrightsville Beach, NC and at the family lake house in Tryon, NC. She hosted a large family gathering in Columbia at Christmas. Carol is recovering from major back surgery. BIG News: Carol quit smoking! Lynda Morillo Hord is very excited that daughter Jennifer is getting married April 18. She met her soulmate and they will be living in the mountains of NC in Marshall, where she is director of “Glory Ridge.” It is an ecumenical work camp where young people come from churches as far away as Wyoming into the area to do good works for the poor. The camp is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains by the French Broad River. Lynda is very proud of Jennifer’s work. Kay Elder Williams and Jim are pleased to announce that grandson, Vlad William Mitchell, and Jamie Bankaitis will be married May 23, 2015 in Hampstead, NC. Vlad and his sister Nina Nichole Mitchell have just been adopted by daughter Caryl and her husband Barry. They are from Latvia and are now US citizens and have been in their family for 15 years. Vlad is a US soldier and plans to make a career of it, having served in Afghanistan and Kuwait. Vlad is 30 and Nina is 28. Caryl says that the adoption is like putting a bow on the package. Edith Reynolds is busy working in the family drugstore and keeps granddaughter, Audrey, two days a week. Audrey will be two in October and she’s all fun! Remember to send me your news and please designate your gifts to Coker to the Class of '63 Endowment Scholarship Fund.
1964 Anne Lamb Matthews Not much to report except that I was in Brisbane, Australia, Biloxi, DC, and Jefferson, MO in the last two months. Will be in Durham and Chapel Hill for meetings at Duke and UNC this weekend, and then later this month flying to Hong Kong, then Stockholm, and to West Virginia. I stay busy speaking on the Rotary Foundation and doing humanitarian work. I have a new great, great nephew, John Jefferson Manning, born March 25. I dearly love him. He has a sister, Anne Davis, who is two and a half. They are so special in my life. Abigail Etters Pilger John and I just returned to Atlanta after three months in Naples, FL, at our second home. We have made many friends and of course love the weather down on the Gulf. I have joined three book clubs that meet on consecutive weeks, so lots of interesting reading! Also in the community we have an active Pelican Marsh women's league that does charity work. I even found a new chapter of the NSDAR to join, and being small means they have already given me an office! I am the only real southern lady so I always have to explain why we come from Atlanta to Naples for the winter. (My husband being from Minnesota doesn't like cold weather and neither do I!!!) We go back in the summer as the weather in Atlanta is just as warm and humid as Naples, but Naples has wonderful breezes. We are well as are our children and four grandchildren. John and I celebrated our 50th last year. See everyone at our Coker 55 in 2019! Sarah Ann Alford Horton Sarah Ann’s husband Wendell wrote: We plan to take a road trip all around SC, beginning later in April. We plan to visit Coker, and also Lakeview, Page's Mill, Floydale, and Dillon (Sarah Ann's family roots). Sarah Ann is floating in bliss loving Ella, our youngest grandchild—helping in her care on Fridays. And Sarah Ann wrote: Recently, my dear husband, collector of "antique" treasures, brought home a true jewel, a February 1969 "Sandlapper" Magazine of SC. It features Coker's Susan Coker Stout Memorial Dormitory on the cover. Following was a six-page article by Christina Glover, which included nine delightful pictures that vividly turned the clock back to the early sixties for me. This would have been great for our reunion. Maybe there are other copies around. I want to share this with fellow classmates. Dale Galloway Davies After living in Beautiful Beaufort, SC, where we met some 49 years ago (I was teaching for the Department of Defense and Paul came to The Marine Corps Air Station on his way to Vietnam and 300 combat flying missions), we are moving to Hartsville and Coker to be near family living there. As our older son is with the U.S. State Dept. in Diplomatic Security and is based all over the world with this job and our younger son and his wife are presently living in Berlin, we decided to move to Hartsville rather than following either of our sons and families!! Hope to see some of you there—our new address will be 605 W. Home Ave. We plan to settle in after a trip to France and Germany after closing on our new home by May and travels that month. The hot weather of summer will allow for unpacking, etc. While we will miss terribly Beaufort and our special church, St. Helena, much soul-searching and prayer have gone
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into this later-life decision!! Hope to see you in Hartsville soon. Susan M. Frank Well, I finally retired as of January 31st. It is very, very strange to not have any demands on my time and energies. It’s kind of like graduating from high school or college and now having to decide what to do next. So the new challenge is to look out there and see what sings for me. I am taking my time, resting and spending time in the garden and with good friends. I will be in Ireland working on the archaeology dig again for the whole month of June and then a week in NJ with family and old friends. No idea what comes after that, but looking forward to whatever emerges. Lorena Cook James
Nell Bates Beasley I am now walking with my cane, not walker, and I don't have to wear my brace as much. Praise the Lord. I go to the doctor April 28 and hope he releases me. Everyone in the family is great. Carol Chastain Dietrick We just returned from a 10-day vacation with friends living in the Dominican Republic. Had a grand time walking on the beautiful beaches, swimming in the crystal clear waters, eating the "oh so good" food, and playing Mexican Train every night. Definitely the most relaxing vacation we've ever had. Joe and I recently celebrated our 75th and 73rd birthdays, and we have been married for 50 years. We have chosen to take our family to Germany and Switzerland in August for the big event. Joe and the boys will be searching for their German roots and we'll all be hiking in Switzerland. Otherwise, we are still busy volunteering at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden and playing golf. So far our health is good and we are enjoying life. Mary Louise Antley Glesner Mary Louise is very involved with her grandchildren. She is close to granddaughter Bailey, now four, who is a precious, sparkly child. And it was Dustin Brown vs. Trevor Brown (ML grandsons) at the Byrd Elementary Chess Club Tournament Final in March. Dustin was the surprise finalist in the match...he’s the only 2nd grader in the club! It was a good match, but Trevor (4th grader) came out victorious! Mary Louise writes: I’m just glad that spring has finally arrived, and now I can get outside and do some yard work. Pat Holland Chapman I have no news other than my son who has been in New Jersey for 10 years is moving back to South Carolina this summer. Yay!!
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I had a wonderful five-week stay in a 17th century cottage in Bourton on the Water in the Cotswolds—lots of hiking and visiting lovely towns and Roman ruins. Hope to get over to Japan this coming fall. Cameron Council Speth Gus and I decided to take a road trip to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary year and to experience as much spring as possible. We began in late March at the Isle of Palms in SC and headed south through Georgia and Florida and then along the Gulf Coast through Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Turning around in Texas and heading home to Vermont going through Arkansas, Tennessee, West Virginia, Washington, DC, and Princeton, NJ. We allowed ourselves six weeks and hope that spring will have come to Vermont by the time we get there in mid-May.
1965
(Names listed from left to right) First Row: Eleanor Powell Clark, Linda Crews Pearson, Marvis Wiggins Henry, Lillian “Mickey” Utsey Harder, Ellie Ertzberger Motes, Mary Williamson Sikes Second Row: Judi Shaffer Garrity, Joanne Waldrep Thomason, Jane Parlor Norwood, Mary Elese Pugh Krebs, Frances Condon Baker A fabulous time was had by everyone who attended the 50th reunion of the Class of 1965! Peggy Boatwright Peck, Linda Crews Pearson, Mellie Ertzberger Motes, Jane Parler Norwood, Eleanor Powell Clark, Mary Elese Pugh Krebs, Judy Shaffer Garrity, Mary Sikes, Mickey Utsey Harder, Marvis Wiggins Henry, Frances Condon Baker and Joanne Waldrep Thomason talked nonstop about Coker memories and about what each has done since we left the gates of Coker. Everyone was thrilled with the beauty of the campus, and we marveled at the new construction and the friendliness of the students we met. The newly renovated dining hall was drop-dead gorgeous. Coker is obviously thriving and it was wonderful to see. There was much laughter as well as tears about the passing of classmate Donna Gates Chapman who died just before our reunion. We all vowed to keep in touch, and if you weren’t there, you were missed. Please stay in touch by sending news of you and your family.
still working four days a week in family medicine, and we get to our river home in Bluffton as often as we can. We keep up the yard ourselves, so there is quite a lot to do each visit. I continue to write, poetry mostly, and am inspired by the beautiful May River there and the memories. Cissy's (died in 1995) son came from Germany over Easter with his youngest child, whom we had not met. Special times indeed! My newest interest is making prayer shawls with members from several churches to give to the sick, injured and bereft. We are the Knitting Witnesses, aka KnitWits! Some may think this a fitting moniker for this Cokernut!" Judy Brown Pigg: "I am planning to attend the Alumni business meeting and luncheon, hoping to see some friends from the class of 1965 and 1970 (my sister, Jane's class). I would like to encourage anyone who is in the Hartsville area to come by and take a tour of the new gym. It is really wonderful and a great addition to Coker's athletic department. Wayne and I have enjoyed several volleyball and basketball games this winter with our grandson Daniel (10) and granddaughter Kate (6)." Faye Coan White: “I continue to stay very close to Brevard where I am blessed to be able to help care for my mother and both of Gil's parents. If you are visiting in the area, we can offer a waterfall tour, glass of wine, ice cream cone or at the very least a friendly chat. I lost my father, Thomas White, in March, and Pansy Bazen lost her mother a few weeks before." Mattie Dobson White: “Michael, our youngest, is doing a two-year fellowship in Surgical Oncology at City of Hope Cancer research hospital in Pasadena, CA. He and Shannon had a little girl at Halloween. We went out for a week right after Christmas, took our daughter Merrie with us, and had a good visit with Michael, Shannon, Lawson (4), and Brooke. We went to the Rose Parade on New Year's Day and had a great time. We are taking our other son, Adam, and his family (wife Amy, children Addison and Archer) to CA with us in June for another visit. Jim and I have just returned from a wonderful trip to Israel with a small group from our church. It puts a whole new perspective of insight on Lent and Easter for us now. Jim has a new scan coming up in the end of May, and we are praying for good news from that as always. In early July we are planning on a river cruise in southern France. We decided that we don't have many years of good health and vitality left and we better do what traveling we want to do now while we are still fairly fit and healthy.
Classmates, it looks like we are all keeping up with the times because some of you sent me your response by iPhone! Travelers, volunteer workers, babysitters and caregivers seem to be the new positions that we have now accepted. Each of these places a demand on your time, so thanks for answering my plea for news!
Judi Hege Bailey: "I've been enjoying my time as a volunteer, and Bren just might say I've taken it to the extreme. Dear to my heart is Coker, and I've loved being involved with the Ladies of Coker. We met in March to select the recipient of the Jean Campbell Williamson '46 scholarship and the selection process was difficult—what an extraordinary group of young women! It was difficult to select only one. And, if you haven't been back to Hartsville lately, you will be really surprised at the changes both on and off campus—new facilities on campus as well as the business and hotel growth—even from our last reunion.
Nancy Baker Bell: “Jimmy and I are rolling along about as usual. We enjoy the four Hartsville grandkids and try to make as many of their activities as we can. He is
When not engaged with Coker, I also serve on the Virginia Tech College of Arts and Human Sciences' Dean's Roundtable. Another wonderful opportunity to be
Mickey Utsey Harder
1968
engaged with fellow alums (Ed.D. '76), current students and faculty. Bren likes the football games, so he attends the fall meetings with me. But 90% of my volunteer time is spent as President of the Board of the Shepherd's Center of Greater Winston-Salem. We serve over 4,500 seniors annually and are celebrating our 30th anniversary with a capital campaign, so I'm fundraising again and enjoying every minute of it! Bren and I started 2015 with trips to Florida and Virginia, and will head to Myrtle Beach for our 47th anniversary in June. We are both active with the Country Corvette Club. Visiting and hosting family and friends from near and far takes up the remainder of our time, creating some of our most treasured memories. When we are home we spoil our pets Grits (westie) and Duncan (golden retriever)!" Nancy Strahan Hall: "I like to think about life as being an adventure, and we have been so lucky to have had a career that now allows us the economic flexibility to try all sorts of things. This spring I am joining the growing ranks of beekeepers. I have taken two beekeeping classes and assisted at a class at the John Campbell Folk School last May. I have not had my own bees until now...well, they are on their way up from South Carolina arriving mid-April. Like so many in the Northeast, we're having a late spring, but we are hoping for some blossoms soon and later a good honey flow. I have also continued my volunteer work at Sagamore Hill National Historic Site. The site has been closed for the past three years for major rehabilitation work. Now everything in the house is being reinstalled, and I have been part of a team re-shelving books in TR's library. Slow going since every book must match its exact catalog location on the shelves. It's been fascinating work, and thanks to a little Aleve, the back has held up! Waller and I also continue our Friday night volunteer stint at the Welcome Inn, our local soup kitchen, which serves much more than soup, and many different people, some homeless, some just lonely and 'hungry' for company. Finally, Anne and Jim Darby visited us here in New York in the fall, and we hope to make our way to South Carolina in May to spend time with them, but also Ellen Hayden, Barbara Lansche and any other Coker 'girls' who are nearby." Joan Ladinig Abernathy: “Wilson and I spent a wonderful week in Akumal, Mexico with our neighbors, leaving the sleet and snow behind in Virginia. Fishing, snorkeling, swimming with the dolphins and feasting on seafood really spoiled us. So I headed to Florida the next week, and celebrated my Mom's 93rd birthday. My daughter, Keleigh, is now running 5k events; I prefer to walk my miles on a treadmill. Her brother Chris has started his own business in Murrells Inlet, Mahn Appraisals, and he and Melissa expect a son in August. Aside from tutoring, church activities, gardening, reading and knitting, I am getting ready to upgrade my kitchen. Doing all my research now on cabinets, counter tops, flooring, appliances—whew, I'm already exhausted! Stay in touch—2018 will be here before you know it!
T HE OFFICIA L M AG A ZINE OF COKER COL L EG E, H A RT S V IL L E, S .C .
C O M M E N TA RY
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Doug has his spring garden planted, and we’re looking forward to more good veggies this season. Spring finally arrived here, and we’ve been enjoying nature’s beauty. All of us are well, happy and busy. Our only “misadventure” was a visit with a rabid raccoon. We fared well in the outcome, the coon didn’t! Bryan has a big project going, which keeps him away much of the time. Kelly, Kyle and Bella will enjoy the summer break before school resumes and gymnastics and other involvements take over their schedules again in the fall. I enjoyed a spring “Ladies of Coker” meeting at the College, am on the committee for a May high school reunion, and am involved in activities at my church.
Catherine Tanner Mishler
ADVANCE 1969 Frankie Rhodes Watson writes: "Our 50th reunion is in four years. Hey y'all, let’s start now and consider how you can make that event a priority. Chip & I are living in Columbia enjoying family & friends. We travel to CO to see our oldest daughter, Fran, and their four teenagers; to AZ to visit our youngest daughter, Grace; and are thankful that Bryan's family with two really fun boys are living in Summerville. We enjoy boating activities and are involved in our church where we were both on staff until retirement."
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Evelyn Conley Owen asks for our prayers for their family. Evelyn said they are suffering the recent loss of her two-year-old grandson, Lachlan Tannery. He was a brave little fellow who fought hard against the cancer. Hyatt Ann Keels Brandt: "I am retired and living with my daughter again in Irmo. She works in physical therapy at Lexington Medical Center. My mother is doing well in a nearby LTC facility. My older son and his family are still in Merritt Island, FL. My younger son has been teaching for two years in China. My brother, Thomas D. Keels, Jr., died in May, 2014. I keep up with several of my Coker friends." Anne Gardner Blomeyer: "I heard from Lynne Tieslau Jewell last week. She and Rick travel a lot and last week were in Texas, 500 miles away from us, so we didn't see them, but they are visiting national parks and were in Big Bend, which she said was beautiful. I haven't been that far west in Texas after living here for 25 years! They still live in LA. Their daughter Annie has a very successful career in props and costuming kinds of things in the movie industry. She has worked with some of the great directors and producers. Also talked with Carol Ruthven this month. They are fine. Richard has finally retired, it seems, and they spent a month or so in Florida and escaped some, but not all of the extreme weather in New Jersey. They visited with Mandy Hubbard and said they think she is beginning to recover from the loss of her dear husband about a year ago. Hopefully you will hear directly from Carol and April and won't need my version of their updates. Bob and I are doing fine. Both still working as much as we want and sometimes more. I had dinner with Coker President Dr. Wyatt in November when he was in town for meetings. Bob was out of town, so I took Dr. Wyatt to one of Bob's and my favorite neighborhood vegan restaurants. A rather funky place. He didn't miss a beat. He said lots of students now are vegan, or glutenfree, or vegetarian, etc., so they have to provide for that in the campus food service. Humm...I still so fondly remember those homemade rolls we had with the butter, gluten, et al! Things have really changed in almost half a century. I missed our reunion last year because of a family wedding, so we're planning to go to Alumni Day this April. I'm hoping the class of 1970 will adopt us for the weekend. We had planned to attend Coker Homecoming while we were in Raleigh in February, but that great plan got nixed when I came down with the flu the second day after we arrived at my dad's place. So Plan B." Connie Iglehardt Brock: "Jim and I have just returned from a trip to Jamaica. This was our third trip to Couples Swept Away outside of Negril. We enjoy our experiences there—beautiful, relaxing, and all-inclusive!
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2015
We planned this trip to celebrate my youngest sister Sheila’s 60th birthday. You may remember the young pigtailed girl who was on campus often. Since our house was on campus with Daddy working there, Sheila loved to sneak over to Nikki Brumbaugh’s studio. She continued her interest in art and uses her talents as an interior designer. This Jamaica trip was even more exciting because we also had our son, Scott, and daughter-in- law, Tammy, joining us for part of the week to help celebrate. They have recently moved from Chicago to Charlotte. We are so thankful for their closer location!! They did not join us for the entire trip because they had left the guys at home and wanted to get back to them. Jake will be 17 in June, and Adam turns 13 in April…two wonderful teenage boys! Jim continues to work in his business, Standard Distributors, and says he will not retire as long as he still enjoys it. Me—I enjoy my retirement! I stay busy with my volunteering and physical activities. We are thankful to still be in good health and able to do and go; that we recognize is a blessing!" Amanda Hubbard Sedgwick: "I don't know if Carol Luth Ruthven told you or not, but a little over a year ago I lost my best friend, soul mate, play mate, lover, husband, my everything! God called my Michael back Christmas before last. Thank God he was gone suddenly and did not have to suffer but for a weekend. Also thank God he died in my arms. Also I'm so thankful I have such a loving family, to include our precious dog, Mitsy and unbelievable friends here on Tybee as well as all over the world. I hope you and your family have a blessed Easter. Love and peace, Mandy" April Garnier Poitras: "At this moment my husband Joe and I are traveling to see Leigh Anne Farnell and husband Jeff on St. Simons Island. We're on a road trip to NJ to clean out my Dad's house since he passed away in December at 93 years old. I am sad that both my and Joe's parents have passed now. But we were glad to have them into their 80s and 90s. We have plans to see Hyatt Ann Keels Brandt and Ruby Lynn and Randy in Florence on the way up north, then plan to meet Vaughan Smith Long in NC on the way back to TX. I'm glad to be retired from my latest job teaching Nature School to 2nd graders. My biggest joy is going to Austin, TX, to see our two grandsons ages six and three. And Joe and I love traveling in the US and Europe. My brain keeps active with genealogy work." Jen Baker Smith: "Hi classmates, how exciting to think we are moving toward our fiftieth year class reunion. Time flies when you are having fun, so Dick and I must be having a ball!! We absolutely love retirement. Every day I say a little prayer for the new day and for the joy I find in all that we do. Our two children and their spouses have blessed us with seven grandchildren— our son, Brian, and his wife, Amy, and their four live here in Bluffton and enjoy all of the salt water sports from kayaking, tubing, fishing, and "dock jumping." Between the four children, the family is involved in horseback riding, violin, guitar, voice, tennis, golf, and gymnastics lessons. Their children range in age from five to eleven years old. Brian continues to run his dental practice and his wife, besides scheduling the family events, helps with the business end of the practice. Our daughter, Marnie, and her husband, Jay McMurray, live in Laurens where he also has his dental practice. Marnie homeschools her two younger children, Jennie Margaret (10) and Davidson (7). Their oldest, Wiggins, is in eighth
grade at Greenville Classical Academy and is thriving there. His homeschooling experiences through seventh grade had him well prepared for this new experience. The children and grandchildren continue to bless our lives beyond measure. In addition to our involvement in church and family activities, Dick and I enjoy traveling. We spent a month cruising and touring, among other places, Rome and Athens, the Greek Isles and Venice a couple of years ago, and this past January we cruised to Colombia, South America, and went through the Panama Canal, and stopped in Belize and Cozumel while en route home. In April and May we will do a trans-Atlantic cruise to Europe stopping in the Azores, Lisbon, Bilbao, Paris, London, and then fly to Prague for a night or two and travel to Vienna before flying home. After this trip I believe I will be content to stay in the United States and see more of our beautiful country! Dick and I built our cabin in the Asheville, NC, area and enjoy spending time there relaxing and exploring the surrounding area. Dick prefers the mountains during the hot, humid months of coastal South Carolina summers, so our time is divided between the mountains and the coast. We feel blessed to have good health so we can continue to be active. My mom, (Margaret Davidson Baker '40), is still living and has severe dementia. When at home in Bluffton I spend time with her every day. Thank goodness I have my sister, Mary Baker ’74, who "fills the gap" for me when we are away. Sure hope we have a big group of classmates at our fiftieth year reunion. It would be so much fun to see many friends back at Coker. I think I will begin writing down memories as they come to me just in case they stop coming!!!" Jackie Shuler: "My grandson, Jasper, will be four in May and such a blessing to us all. He is in a 3K Montessori program and had a project due last week... things in education sure have changed since the 1960s. I went to Peru over the Thanksgiving break and am completing my 16th year as an Assistant Principal at South Florence High School with no plans to retire. Still enjoy going to the Wateree River with family on the weekends."
1970
(Names listed from left to right) First Row: Sylvia McLamb Puffer, Gayle Buckheister Sawyer, Martha Flowers Herbert, Marguerite Sloman Botkin, Linda Burnett Jeter, Linda Bradford, Brenda Thompson Stewart, Joyce Floyd Shaw, Elaine White Gilbert, Nell Cutts Daniels Second Row: Lucy Maxwell, Ray Torrance Vance, Diane Thrasher Mills, Suzette Whittle York, Beth Abrams Jones, Jane May Gable, Jessica Markley Lee, Linda Lee Matthews, Connie White Boleman, Jane Brown Riechmann Kudos to Martha Flowers Herbert for being honored by the Red Cross by being inducted into the national Donation Hall of Fame. Martha’s first donation was made in 1966 while at Coker at the urging of George Sawyer, our beloved biology professor. George and Gayle Sawyer attended the
ceremony to honor Martha, and she was so surprised and excited to have them there along with her family! Martha has also been elected/selected to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Wildlife and Fishery Advisory Board for her district. Her reputation in hunting and fishing is widely known and appreciated. She continues to be active with the Swamp Fox Quilters group where she sees Ray Torrance Vance. Martha has been treasurer for this group since 1985. Their guild does lots of charity work for local hospitals, hospice, disability groups, group homes, Quilts of Valor and others. Martha says that a fun way to show love is in giving quilts! Maxine McGarity was not able to attend our reunion because her mother had a stroke a year ago and Max, being a truly faithful daughter, visits her mother daily to give her physical therapy on her hand. The stroke left her mom with loss of mobility in her hand and a year ago, she played the piano at church every Sunday. Max says she will not leave Miami as long as her mother needs her. Judi Cooper Camak is still a financial advisor and loves her work. She doubts she will ever retire. She was sorry to miss the reunion but her assistant at work had a baby due at that time, so Judi was unable to get away. Judy Southard is another who could not make the reunion due to her 'retirement' work, which keeps her still in basketball but always falls in March Madness and playoffs at reunion time. Judy is a supporter of Coker and hates to miss being with classmates. Susan Burns Wetmore missed the reunion due to activities surrounding the birth of her second granddaughter expected in May. Hopefully she can make the 50th! It's never too early to plan ahead. This year has been eventful but full of blessings for Susan Roessler Dirsh. Early detection via her yearly mammogram led to a lumpectomy followed by radiation for breast cancer. She is considered cured while still being watched closely. Needless to say, she continues to be a strong proponent of yearly mammograms and hopes everyone in our class is keeping up with theirs. She missed the reunion because her son (and the baby of the family) is getting married. They are adding another daughter to the family and couldn't be happier. Mike and Susan have certainly enjoyed this first full year of retirement with travels and volunteering, and now wonder how they ever had time to work! They have several trips planned this year, some with kids and grandkids and another in the planning stages, which will be "fall in New England." That will also give them the opportunity to visit their daughter, who lives in Boston and had a very interesting winter. Fran Crisp McCaw was not able to attend the reunion, but was thinking about all of us and missed seeing so many classmates. The only news she has at this time is that her middle daughter is expecting another baby in August. It will be her second child. She has a boy who is 10 years old. Fran’s oldest girl has three children and her youngest has two. She is busy babysitting, as you can probably guess. Jane Brown Riechmann and Mark welcomed a new daughter-in-law to their family, Kate, when son Tim married on January 17, 2015. Beth Abrams Jones knows Kate’s mom as she lives in Highlands where Kate was raised (small world). Kate and Tim met on a dating website and seem to complement each other perfectly. Jane is W W W. C O K E R . E D U
thrilled to finally even up the family: three girls to three guys. It was lonely being the only female for so many years, especially since she was raised in a family where her dad was the loner to a wife and three daughters! Beth Abrams Jones is retired now; Elaine White Gilbert is looking forward to retirement in less than a year; Nell Cutts Daniels has another grandchild on the way; Nell informed us that Nancy Ashcraft Hinchey is fighting cancer so our prayers are with her; Linda Lee Matthews is glowing as a new grandmother; Linda Burnett Jeter’s daughter Jayne will be married on September 26.
Pie White Sharpe was hoping to be at our reunion on Saturday but ended up with kidney stones, which kept her from being with us. We had a large group on Friday evening for our reunion get-together at Bizzell's and a great turn out on Saturday for Alumnae meetings. We were entertained with a video of reunion class photos and performances by students of dance, vocal music and piano. We all enjoyed a luncheon graced by more photos from our yearbook as table decoration. It was wonderful to see so many friends from Coker days and catch up with their news. It is gratifying to see the commitment to our alma mater through attendance, involvement and excitement in the future of our school. Let’s work to double our attendance for our 50th!! I’ll repeat that I’m happy to accept the challenge of Class Representative for 1970. I have big shoes to fill. Our reunion photo will share with you those in attendance on Saturday; however Myra Cato Coffey, Candee Constable Craven, Martha Carpenter Shaleuly, Carol Alford Edwards and Debbie Moore Hall attended our dinner Friday night but were not present on Saturday due to previous engagements.
1972 Janie Cleckley Campbell and Sarah McCanless Haarlow share that we are so sorry to have lost our dear friend Harriett Courtney Lemke. We enjoyed working together, as your class representatives, on our class news for the Coker Commentary. We miss her terribly. For those who may not have known, we have included her obituary: "Harriett Courtney Lemke, 64, entered into eternal life Saturday, January 31, 2015, at the home of her parents. Born in Johnston, South Carolina on May 19, 1950, Harriett was a beloved daughter, wife, sister, aunt, philanthropist, and friend to many. Before serving as the Director of Admissions at Presbyterian College (PC), Harriett began her career as a mathematics teacher in the Charleston, South Carolina public school system. After working at PC for 10 years, Harriett returned to her alma mater, Coker College, as the Associate Director of Admissions. While at Coker, Harriett met and married the love of her life, Dr. Jim Lemke. Upon her departure from the field of Higher Education, Harriett’s creative W W W. C O K E R . E D U
Harriett enjoyed spending her time serving the Hartsville community. An active member of First Presbyterian Church in Hartsville, South Carolina, Harriett served on many committees and as an Elder. Harriett’s love of gardening led her to become a Clemson University Certified State Master Gardener, a member of the Board of Directors for Kalmia Gardens of Coker College, a Master Gardener for Darlington County, and a former member of Pine and Lake Garden Club. Harriett also served on the Board of Directors for Carolina Kids, LLC, the Executive Board of the Coker College Alumni Association, the Board of Directors for the Hartsville Community Concert, and as a member of the Darlington County Transportation Committee. As a 37-year cancer survivor, Harriett also enjoyed serving as co-chair of the Darlington County Relay for Life. Preceded in death by her husband, Dr. James (Jim) Wayne Lemke of 30 years, Harriett is survived by her parents Lon and Averill Boatwright Courtney, of Johnston; her brother James (Ellen) Courtney, of Johnston; niece Harriett-Graham Courtney; nephew Harrison Courtney; and her loyal Boykin Spaniel and companion, Molly." Harriett was very passionate about establishing an endowed chair in Jim’s name, so I would encourage our classmates to designate your gifts to Coker toward this. The Lemke chair will be "attached" to a faculty member chosen by the Promotion and Tenure committee. The board will have to approve the candidate of course, and the total funding needs to get to a certain amount before the first stipend can be paid (we are getting close, just not there yet). So, a hypothetical example might help. Let's assume the chair winds up with $100,000 in it (I think we currently have about $80,000). Each year we would add 5% of that $100,000 (or whatever its current balance is) to a faculty member’s salary who would be called the Lemke Chair for College Service (or something close to that). It will be a GREAT way to have their legacy of service to Coker remembered. Please cherish your memories of the time we spent together and know that "though we go our separate ways, in our hearts there'll always be, memories of our youthful days" at Coker. Sarah Mims spoke with Harriett’s family. For anyone who wishes to send condolences to her parents, Lon and Averill Courtney, their address is 503 McQueen Street, Johnston, SC, 29832. Linda Dean Fraser: "I had not seen Harriett since we graduated, but I remember her as this sweet, perky girl who was always smiling. From her obituary, I can see that she had a good life and that she spent a lot of time giving to others. She did so many different things and was so talented! I am sad that she suffered from this awful cancer that has robbed us of so many friends and family, but I know she faced it with courage and the knowledge that one day her Heavenly Father would lift her out of the grasp of death and welcome her into His eternal kingdom where she will bask in His love forever.
I can hardly believe that soon we 'Cokernuts' will be under the umbrella of Medicare! But our hearts are still young, and we smile as we think back on those happy days that we spent together."
so thrilled after all of their struggles to become parents. That now brings our total to seven grandchildren! Since Bob retired last June, we have time to enjoy them more."
Sara Holley Adams: "Barry and I went to Harriett’s service. There was standing room only in the small church with many of us in small rooms off to the side of the sanctuary. I am sure that Harriett would have been pleased to see how many people came to celebrate her life. The service was just beautiful and very touching. My heart really goes out to Mr. and Mrs. Courtney.
1973
Last year was one of the hardest but most blessed years of our lives. Barry's condition after his heart attack and anoxic brain injury was very serious, and it was weeks before we knew whether there was a chance that he may recover. Then we began a long journey of recovery that included spending six weeks in Atlanta at the Shepherd Rehab Hospital and many more months in outpatient therapy after we returned home. We could not have gotten through this without God's help and miracles. We felt very unworthy but felt God's presence every step of the way. Barry has continued to improve but he has not completely regained all memory. Even if he never does, we have a very blessed life and are truly grateful to God for giving us more time together here on earth. We are thankful to be able to be actively involved in church once again. Our family and our church family were so tremendously supportive of us when we were going through such a tough time that we just want to do our best to pay it forward. Our daughter April and her husband Chuck had a little boy, Charlie, on May 1, 2014, another of God's blessings. We are enjoying being retired, doting grandparents." Bet Birdsong Matthews: "Letting you know that Willie's (Janice Wilkins) brother, Murry, passed away after a courageous battle with cancer. Willie also lost her mother not long ago. We love you, Willie!" Janie Cleckley Campbell: "Sammy and I went to a huge car show in Charlotte in April, so I missed Alumni Day. Our 50th will be here before you know it, so I hope you will start now to plan to be here for that celebration. Please do stop by Coker if you are ever in the area. I think you will be pleased with what you see. Two beautiful new residence halls are on the grounds where the hospital stood, and the athletic facility is truly something for you to be proud of. Last week we focused on the best of the best as students presented research papers, participated in panel discussions and were recognized for academic excellence during the “James Lemke Celebration of Academics.” I wish Harriett could have been here to enjoy Jim's pet project. You can't drive through Hartsville at this time of year without thinking of our little friend. The Master Gardeners of Kalmia Gardens are having their plant sale. Every time I see a snowball bush, I get a lump in my throat as Harriett and Jim had such a gorgeous one in their yard. She was a Master Gardener. I hope you remember how beautiful Hartsville is in the spring. One last big piece of news: Next time you come to visit, I will not have to run off to take care of business. I plan to retire July 1. Come see us... Sarah Haarlow and I will make you feel very special." Sarah McCanless Haarlow: "Our biggest news this year is the adoption of our newest grandchild, Robert Eugene Williams IV, by our daughter and son-in-law. We are
Jane Clyburn writes to say that she is looking for a co-class representative to help gather news for the Commentary. If you are interested in helping, please email the alumni office at alumni@coker.edu.
1974
Greetings from the 'glades! I moved a little farther south last fall settling in Everglades City, FL, about 40 minutes from Marco Island, FL. It's a historic community with a fishing and crabbing economy and a very laid back vibe. Come visit! You won't want to leave! I received some news from some of our classmates, specifically Donna Ladinig Holder and Milton and Cynthia Gantt. Donna reports that she is now a proud grandmother of a sweet baby girl named Ana Regina. Also, Donna's mother celebrated her 93rd birthday in March. She is still very vibrant and healthy and lives independently in Florida. Looking ahead, Donna announced that she is retiring from her position as a permitting specialist with the City of Riviera Beach in 2016. Donna and her sister Joni, a 1965 Coker grad, recognized the 450th anniversary of the Fountain of Youth in St. Augustine, FL, with a sisters' getaway. No wonder they both look so young! Milton and Cynthia Gantt are pleased to announce the marriage of their daughter Amanda. The nuptials were held in Savannah, GA, in February. If you find yourself in the Myrtle Beach/Conway area, give the Gantts a call. They would love to visit with Coker alums over lunch or dinner.
1975
(Names listed from left to right) First Row: Martha Short Rivers, Diane Roden Dinneny, Miriam Anderson, Reveley Wilson Thomy, Priscilla Corriher Weaver, “Crazy Susie” Dunklin Guerry, Bebe Prosser Beasley, Jackie Hoffman Floyd Second Row: Floy Henry Fanning, Carlotta Johnson Wiggins, Deborah Scarboro Snyder, Betsy Mauldin McCray, Agnes Avery Lyles, Lisa Hardwick McCutchen, Bonnie Yon
1980
(Names listed from left to right) First Row: Lee Hickman, Shirley C. Davidson, Carolyn Donati Johnson
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Sylvia McLamb Puffer and Dick had their first grandchildren born this past year. Their grandson, Tucker, and granddaughter, Edie, have changed and brightened their lives. Dick continues to teach at Coker and Sylvia is at St. John’s Elementary in Darlington, teaching music. She holds about seven performances a year. They are both beginning to consider retirement.
talents radiated as she founded two companies, Two Bored Women Catering and Sellabration. Harriett also co-authored “The Screened Door Pantry,” a cookbook featuring a collection of family receipes, stories, and photographs dating back to the 1800s.
ADVANCE I don’t care how you reach me
1983
Just get me if you can…
Glenn D. Bridges "Over the past couple of years, I’ve been putting the drama and theatre classes I took at Coker to good use. Thus far, I’ve landed bit parts in movies such as 'The Sacrament,' 'Killing Winston-Jones,' 'SpongeBob SquarePants: The Sequel,' 'Vanished: Left Behind,' and 'Ruth,' along with four episodes of a new TV series called 'South of Hell' that is supposed to air this summer on WEtv. Most of the projects were filmed in Charleston, SC, and Savannah, GA."
Cheers to Peace, Love, Health, and Happiness Teresa Martin (Trigger)
1995
ADVANCE
Michelle Wiscovitch King
1986 Hello Coker Friends, Hope this finds all of you happy and loving life. As most of you know, with the completion of the new DeLoach Center, Homecoming weekend has been moved from soccer and volleyball season in October to basketball season in February. What an incredible facility and one that would make any Coker student-athlete proud to be a Cobra. It was a very special Homecoming for me this year with being inducted into our Athletic Hall of Fame. What an honor to be recognized with such a distinguished group of great athletes and extraordinary Coker alumni. I was thrilled to share this experience with my family, and many of my teammates, friends, and faculty members. Many of us have not seen each other in years, so it was wonderful to catch up with the gents and ladies from the ‘80s and learn about your families and life journeys. This is also a big year for a very important member of our Coker family. It is the year that Dr. Steve Terry became a grandfather and will also retire from Coker. He has carried many responsibilities during his dedicated 40 years of service to our college. Currently, he serves as the Vice President of Enrollment and Contract Services, but most of us fondly remember him as Coach Terry, our Physical Education Professor, Athletic Director and Coach. I am sure that I can speak for every Coker alum who has had the pleasure of learning from him in the classroom or on the athletic courts and fields that he will truly be missed. We wish you all the best and hope you, Paula and your growing family have lots of fun checking things off of your bucket list. We hope to still see you every year at Homecoming, unless you are on the beach somewhere in the Caribbean sipping margaritas. Looking forward to sharing more life adventures from you so write me… You can reach me by email You can reach me by my cell
25 | S U M M E R
2015
Enjoy your summer and I hope to see you on campus soon! Ciao, Heather McConnell Buckelew
1984 What a great group we had at our 30-year reunion last fall. It was wonderful to see everyone. We started with cocktails and appetizers at Bizzell’s on Friday and had a great time Saturday tailgating before the Coker soccer games. The group then headed back over to Bizzell’s for an outdoor concert and dinner. Several of the guys from the early '80s got together with Coach Griggs and Deborah. We had folks from our class and friends from our surrounding classes come to celebrate with us. We had a great time. Can’t wait to get together again. See you all next time.
of these students would not be able to attend Coker. So please consider making a gift to the Annual Fund. Currently our class participation is low. Remember it’s not just about the amount you give, it’s about the number of people who give, which helps Coker receive grants and other federal funds. Therefore I challenge each member of the Class of 1995 to give $10 this year.
2005 Happy Summer, Classmates! (Names listed from left to right) First Row: Heather McConnell Buckelew, James Shupe, Julie Meyer Greetings Class of 1995: I’ll start by saying that I am excited to have an update for you. It seems that I never have anything to share since I rarely receive updates, but my frequent visits to Coker have finally paid off. I’m writing after returning from Alumni Day and our 20 year reunion. As always, the Alumni Office did a fabulous job of making us feel welcome. It was wonderful to spend the day with Julie Meyer and Jim Shupe and then have Sheri Speaks Berry and Michelle Eaddy Hood join us for dinner. As we sat together talking about our Coker days, it felt like we were in our Coker time period. For as often as I am on the Coker campus, this visit was different because I shared it with classmates. We walked the campus, ate lunch in the dining hall and remembered things that we thought we had forgotten. We even found that we each had kept in touch with different classmates and were able to exchange updates. We all agreed that keeping in touch through social media cannot take the place of being together again on campus, and we hope that you will join us in five years when we celebrate our next reunion. With the opening of the new DeLoach Center last fall, Coker moved Homecoming to February. For those of you not up to speed, in addition to the traditional homecoming festivities, Coker also holds the Athletic Hall of Fame Induction which included the 1994 Women’s Soccer Team, so I got to see Kristi McHale Turner and Crystal McCamis along with Danielle Doucette ‘96 and Wendy Padillo Smith ‘96. They haven’t changed a bit; I only wish I had been able to spend more time with them. I did however get to catch up with Matt Shores ‘96 and Karol Lowery ’96. In December, the men’s basketball team played an exhibition game against the University of South Carolina. Several alumni attended the game and I enjoyed seeing more friends from our era along with their families including Karen Pinckney Floyd ‘96, Larry Floyd ‘96, Mike Miller ’94, Nikki Maxson ’96, John Curnias ’96, Ali Graham ’97 and Paula Cook McLaughlin ’93. It’s been an exciting few months seeing Coker friends from our class and the years around us. I hope that you will consider making a trip back to campus soon. Alumni are always welcome and as long as your information is up to date, you’ll know about activities. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the majority of Coker students receive some sort of financial support, and if it wasn’t for the support of alumni some
We had a great gathering at our 10-year reunion. It was nice to catch up and see how successful our class has become. The new gym was AMAZING! Coker is growing by leaps and bounds. If you haven’t had a chance to pay a visit, you need to make plans. Speaking of our reunion, we missed many of you; but those in attendance expressed interest in more gatherings in the future. So, keep your eyes open, and I will work on more special events that we can attend together. Our reunion prize winners are as follows: Farthest Traveled: Karen MacIntyre, Least Distance Traveled: Patrice Moses, Most Followers on Social Media: Ben Johnson, Longest Married: Karen Horton Alewine, Most Recent Newlywed: Katheryn Rayman, Oldest Child: Suzy Fielders, Youngest Child: Katheryn Rayman, Most or Highest Degrees: Suzy Fielders! On my end, I am still teaching Voice and Dance. I perform on a monthly basis and have been the guest speaker for many workshops at various churches where I use my new album as inspiration. Curtis (’02) and our little one, Tori, are doing well. We are getting ready to celebrate our 10th year of marriage! Oh, how time flies! Remember to add SmileRainmaker@aol.com to your inbox, so you can receive my updates and reply with the exciting events of your life. If you are not already a member of our Coker Class of 2005 group on Facebook, please e-mail me so that I can invite you into the group. Wish you well, and remember that we would really like to hear from you. You can also find me on Facebook and Instagram under Jessicalloydsmusic.
Shannon Townley Prather updated me on Jenna Crimmins Ligons who has started cosmetology school, and Stacie Fields is currently a Light Shiner at World Race! There are so many exciting things happening for our class, and I am so happy for each and every one of you! I hope everyone got a chance to come to Homecoming this year. Since it was held in February, it was certainly a change from what we were used to, but from the looks of things, it was a huge success! Hopefully we can make this a new tradition for the class of 2009 for years to come! If anyone has any pictures from Homecoming, we'd love for you to share them! I haven't heard from many of you, but would like to for future updates. There are also several of our classmates who are listed as "missing" or "lost," If you, or anyone you know of, is not getting the alumni updates, the Commentary or other correspondence, please encourage them, as I encourage you to contact the alumni office OR myself and we can get your information in the records! You can contact me by email at bowers.shannonc@yahoo.com or find me on Facebook! We also have a group on Facebook, so invite our fellow classmates to join! I hope to hear from you all very soon! Until then. Shannon Bowers
2009 Hello class of 2009! Wow! Some exciting things have been happening with our class lately, and I wanted to update everyone on what's been going on! Nate Donovan recently got engaged, and Karen Schneider recently got engaged to Adam Johnson ’10—CONGRATULATIONS! Cassidy Spencer Johnson and Kat Friedmann Volzer were married in 2014—CONGRATULATIONS! My husband and I will be welcoming our first child in July 2015! Shane Smith and his wife Amanda welcomed their second child recently. I spoke with Andrew Mitchum and was excited to hear that he has started a new job as the lead therapist in the Seneca area for Elite Physical Therapy. Shaylin Pedelty is now the Lead Consultant at Jamberry Nails, and for those of you who have not tried the product, it is fabulous! I had a great conversation with Katelynne Pease McGinty about her new job as a tele communicator for the Public Safety Communications Consortium for St. Joseph County in South Bend, Indiana. W W W. C O K E R . E D U
CLASS REP DIRECTORY The following classes are in need of a class representative: 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1946, 1950, 1955, 1966, 1967, 1993, 1998, 2013 and 2015. If you are interested, please call the alumni office at 1-800-65-COKER (26537) or 843-383-8082.
1938
Florence Houck Steele | PO Box 9005 Orangeburg, SC 29116 | (803) 478-8783
1939
Lisa Sneed | 105 Bison Place, Lexington, SC 29072 | ljsneed@coloniallife.com
1945
Katherine “Kat” Still Campbell | 295 Club Acres Orangeburg, SC 29118 | (803) 534-6594
1947
1948
1977
1962
1978
Sylvia Beard Seppala | 726 Loveville Road # 59 Jane McCrackin Suchy | 5303 Bluff Road Hockessin, DE 19707 | (302) 239-0641 | Mullins, SC 29574 | (843) 464-7056 | sylviabs@aol.com suchysuchy@aol.com Gabrielle (Gaby) Potier Morandiere 300 East 54th Street #7-K New York, NY 10022 | (212) 832-7462 | gaby.morandiere@verizon.net
1963
Kay Elder Williams | 411 West Windward Landing Place Hampstead, NC 284432476 | (910) 270-0122 | tapperkay@charter.net
1964
Naomi Kelley Jackson | 2302 Bay Road Hartsville, SC 29550 | naomijac@roadrunner.com
Pat Hesse Hardison | 8919 Park Road , Apt. 148 Charlotte, NC 28210 | (704) 373-3056 Cameron Council Speth | 89 Jordan Road Strafford, VT 5072 | (802) 765-4899 | cece@speth.com Lois Hatfield Anderson | 210 Saddlebrook Lane Hopkins, SC 29061 | (803) 776-0926 | LHAnderson32@aol.com Eleanor Powell Clark | 106 Arapaho Circle Darlington, SC 29532 | (843) 395-2173
1949 1951
Betty Lee Gandy | 1201 Wisteria Drive Florence, SC 29501 | (843) 662-2797
1952
Betty Lou McIntyre Barclay | 329 Lee Circle Dillon, SC 29536 | (843) 774-6122 | Bbar830771@aol.com Frankie Nicholson Townsend | 201 Kinney Circle Bennettsville, SC 29512 | (843) 479-9398
1953
Pat Chapman Huff | 507 Wilmar Avenue Hartsville, SC 29550 | (843) 332-3755 | pathuff1953@gmail.com Mitzi DuPre Matthews | 200 Juanita Drive Lexington, SC 29072 | (803) 808-8462 | bmatthews4@windstream.net
1954
Lois Hatfield Anderson | 210 Saddlebrook Lane Hopkins, SC 29061 | (803) 776-0926 | LHAnderson32@aol.com
1956
Peggy Cantey Gardner | PO Box 42 Manning, SC 29102 | (803) 435-6862 Barbara Ward Mishoe | 154 South Main Greeleyville, SC 29056 | (843) 426-2591 | bmishoe@stc-i.net
1957
Lynn Williams Oates | 3417 Oates Highway Lamar, SC 29069 | (843) 332-3040 | lwoates@roadrunner.com
1958
Susan Holroyd Shumaker | 315 West Meade Drive Nashville, TN 37205 | (615) 352-5732 |Susan.Shumaker@comcast.net
1959
Pat Crawford Fields | 1713 Scenic Valley Lane Knoxville, TN 37922-7135 | (865) 675-3013 | jcfields@tds.net Holly Mims Westcott | 208 Barnwell Avenue NE Aiken, SC 29801 | (803) 514-2431 | hwestcott@atlanticbb.net
1960
Ann Matthews Bragdon | 1563 Johnsonville Highway Lake City, SC 29560-6202 | (843) 389-4401 | wbragdon@ftc-i.net
1965
Mickey Utsey Harder | 94 Crestwood Drive Clemson, SC 29631 | (864) 654-3138 | harderl@clemson.edu
1968
Joni Lading Abernathy | 20037 Oak River Court S. Chesterfield, VA 23803 | (804) 590-1644 | jabernathyva@comcast.net
1969
Jen Baker Smith | 29 Long Lake Drive Bluffton, SC 29910 | (843) 816-0125 | jensmith303@yahoo.com Frankie Rhodes Watson | 117 Schooner Lane Columbia, SC 29212 | (803) 312-1138 | frankiesapc@yahoo.com
1970
Brenda Thompson Stewart | 108 Fairway Drive Fort Mill, SC 29715-9747 | (803) 547-7177 | brenstew66@gmail.com
1971
Sarah Jo Wood Safrit | PO Box 388 Beaufort, NC 28516-0388 | (252) 728-3213 | sarahjo@centurylink.net
1972
Janie Cleckley Campbell | 2045 East Carolina Avenue Hartsville, SC 29550 | (843) 332-1547 | jccampbell2@bellsouth.net Sarah McCanless Haarlow | 369 Brookwood Drive Hartsville, SC 29550 | (843) 816-4995 | SarahHaarlow@gmail.com
1973
Jane Clyburn | 1002 Starcliff Drive Lugoff, SC 29078 | (803) 438-5638 | pjclyburn@att.net
1974
Pat Newman | (352) 792-3565 | pnewman224@yahoo.com Libbie Wilmeth Smith | 194 Third Street Bamberg, SC 29003 | (803) 614-4657
Vicki Smith Chaplin | 839 Bethlehem Road Hartsville, SC 29550 | (843) 332-5998 | chaplins4@bellsouth.net
1979
Debbie Schultz McLaren | 20184 Foothill Terrace Ashburn, VA 20147 | (703) 726-1190 | writerdeb11@aol.com
1980
Susan Weathersbee Dionne | 137 West Home Avenue Hartsville, SC 29550-4123 | 843-6392065 | d.susan93@yahoo.com
Kathy Harsh Cunningham | 6004 Highmarket Street Georgetown, SC 29440 | (843) 344-1492 | khc1224@aol.com Amy Gibson | 6 Corby Court Columbia, SC 29229 | (803) 462-9851 | algibson90@bellsouth.net
1991
Helen Mason Allen | 1823 Misty Vale Road Charlotte, NC 28214 | (704) 575-1314 | helenm.allen@cms.k12.nc.us
1992
Fredie Williams | PO Box 2734 Evans, GA 30809-2734 | fredie.williams@gmail.com
1994
Jennifer Blankenship | 2977 Dance Drive Lee H. Hickman | 703 Beaty Street Conway, SC Hartsville, SC 29550 | 29526 | (843) 248-3925 | lhickman@sccoast.net (843) 332-9835 | blankcamp@aol.com
2004
Selena Davis | 410 Emmary Street Hartsville, SC 29550 | selenacobras20@gmail.com Julia Kokemor | 202 Saint Nicholas St Luling, LA 70070-5110 | jkokemor1@gmail.com
2005
Jessica Brill Lloyd | 1241 Old Oak Road Birmingham, AL 35235 | smilerainmaker@aol.com
2006
Jennifer Jackson | 200 Cedar Branch Road Loris, SC 29569 | (843) 756-4469 | jenmarie_john315@yahoo.com
2007
Kristin Caswell | 141 Pacific Avenue Chapin, SC 29036-7315 | (864) 241-8124 | kcaswell@vertixinc.com
1981
Dede Lawrence | dede_lawrence@yahoo.com
Daniell Johnson | 107 N 2nd Street, Apt. A Hartsville, SC 29550 | (843) 857-3812 | nikkidaniell@gmail.com
1982
Heather McConnell Buckelew | 1606 Duckhorn Street NW Concord, NC 28027 | (704) 786-1857 | nj2sc2nc@ctc.net
LaDrica Jones-Christian | 843-409-2841 | ladricaj@hotmail.com
Barbara A. Britton | 6716 St. Julian Way Fayetteville, NC 28314 | (910) 860-7650 | jmb1jmb2@aol.com
1995
Dee Holt Zsembik | 1376 Hyde Park Drive Port Orange, FL 32128 | (386) 795-0544 | Sam Fryer III | 1610 Southwood Court ddshouse@yahoo.com Florence, SC 29505-3195 | (843) 629-8372 | sfryer@fsd1.org
1983
Glenn Bridges | 18-F Old Sourth Court Bluffton, SC 29910 | (843) 815-4745 | daddydolphin@hargray.com
1984
Donna Craig | 801 Longbow Road Charlotte, NC 28211 | (704) 365-6763 | djcraig@bellsouth.net Michelle Wiscovitch King | 400 Gandy Drive Hartsville, SC 29550 | (843) 857-0084 | michaelbking@bellsouth.net
1985
Tracie Johnson Paschal | 1111 West Roseneath Road Florence, SC 29501-5745 | TraciePL@aol.com
2008
1997
2009
Karol Lowery | 1559 Essex Hall Drive Rock Hill, SC | (803) 800-4394 | klowery727@aol.com
Alison Wood | 2400 Pine Haven Street Beaufort, SC 29902-6042
1999
Dean Legge | 808 South Poplar Avenue Andrews, SC 29510-3032 | (843) 264-9398 | dean@dawgpost.com
1987
Sheila Trapp | 1343 Antioch Road Hartsville, SC 29551 | (843) 383-3127 | sheilat@darlington. k12.sc.us
Cindy Lee Hylton | 14405 Woodswalk Court Midlothian, VA 23112-2412 | (804) 519-6192 | hyltoncl@verizon.net Donna Farrell Mosser | 9502 Amberleigh Circle North Chesterfield, VA 23236 | (803) 640-5696 | dfmosser@comcast.net Phyllis Atkinson Palmieri | 1819 New Market Road Hartsville, SC 29550-9303
1988
Millicent Chewning Macchione | 3011 Stone Bridge Trail Conyers, GA 30094 | (770) 3880067 | Millicentmacchione@yahoo.com
Lisa Bryant McDowell | 9 Alison Way Columbia, SC 29229 | (803) 699-7924 | Diane Roden Dinneny | 186 Old Farmers Road lmcdowel@richland2.org Long Valley , NJ 07853-9550 | (908) 581-7710 | DLDin@aol.com Meg Quilty Liebe | 803 Washington Avenue Palmyra, NJ 8065
1989
1976
Pennie Cathey Peagler | 183 Royal Oaks Lane Lexington, SC 29072 | (803) 926-8410 | penniepeagler@gmail.com
Veronica Gallo | 502 Cashua Street Darlington, SC 29532 | (724) 816-2466 | veronicagallo@hotmail.com
Regina Bacote Donithan | 5482 Rosehall Place Shannon Crouch Bowers | 1814 Golden Atlanta, GA 30349 | (404) 344-0692 | Street Newberry, SC 29108-4472 | rbacote518@hotmail.com bowers.shannonc@yahoo.com
1986
Teresa "Trigger" Martin | 133 Tall Oaks Drive Irmo, SC 29063 | 803-318-1413 | triggermartin@aol.com
Shereza Middleton | 5145 Seymour Road Dalzell, SC 29040-9144 | middleton26@yahoo.com
1996
Becky Teal | 15 N 9th Street McBee, SC 291018503 | (803) 335-8450
1975
Mouse Belotti | 1118 Inverness Lane Hanahan, SC 29410 | (843) 747-8361 | drb90@att.net
1990
2000
Keelea R. LeJeune | 3121 Torres Avenue Pensacola, FL 32503 | (850) 393-6861 | keelealejeune@hotmail.com
2010
Chad Daniels | 134 West Home Ave. Apt. C Hartsville, SC 29550 | (843) 709-7587 | chad.daniels@sonoco.com
2011
Margaret McCoy Toney | (803) 210-6113 | margaret.m.toney@gmail.com
2012
Meagan Stone | 907 Indian Wells Court Murrells Inlet, SC 29576 | (843) 236-8020 | Meaganstone@ymail.com
2014
Miesha White | 1706 Willis Drive Hartsville, SC 29550 | Romiesha.white@gmail.com
2001
Roslynn Elom | 572 East McIver Road Florence, SC 29506 | (843) 667-0502 | ravenrose3@aol.com
2002
Stephanie Carwile Murry | PO Box 299 Panola, TX 75685 | (318) 773-0133 | Stephanierodeo@aol.com Blayke Turrubiartes | 1847 Arnold Drive Charlotte, NC 28205 | (704) 535-1504 | blaykee@gmail.com
2003
Wes Daniels | 201 Chester Avenue Hartsville, SC 29550 | (843) 616-2485 | wesdaniels@hotmail.com Emily Tupper | 5809 Yeary Road Plano, TX 75093 | (863) 205-6590 | emilymarovich@yahoo.com
Laura McLeod | 5226 Mulholland Dr. Summerville, SC 29485 | (843) 821-49673 | alauramcleod@aim.com
W W W. C O K E R . E D U
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Lee Blake Stevenson | PO Box 660 Beaufort, SC 29901 | (843) 524-5860 | muffy26@hargray. com
1961
ADVANCE The Office of Institutional Advancement would like to thank the friends, alumni, faculty, staff, foundations and corporations who gave so generously to Coker College this year. MEMORIALS
Mrs. Donna Gates Chapman ’65 Mrs. Mellie E. Motes
Information received January 1, 2015 June 30, 2015
Mrs. Mary Helen Bennett Acker ’40
Mrs. Lynne McCuen Ridgeway
Mrs. Lib Bishop Tiller Dr. & Mrs. Louis Stephens
Mrs. Jo Simmons Aiken
Mrs Wilhelmina Kirkland Miller
Dr. & Mrs. Walter Cottingham
Mr. John P. Barclay, Jr.
Mrs. Mary Bell Kittle
Mr. Joe Allston
Mrs. Elizabeth Bull Asnip ’54 Mrs. Mickey McIntoch Atkinson ’55 Jane Elliott Bacot '55
Mrs. Billie Kissane Barclay '59
ADVANCE
Mr. James Bell
Mrs. Pat Chapman Huff Mr. Mickey McDowell Mrs. Charlie Hunt Chewning Mrs. Betty Jean Roberts Hunsinger Mrs. Jean Fore McDaniel Mrs. Mitzi DuPre Matthews
Dr. Pam Binnicker ’60 Mrs. Ann Matthews Bragdon
Mrs. Louise Atkinson Cleveland
Mr. Benji N. Blanton ’97 Mr. & Mrs. Randy Blanton Dr. Irene Bolick
Mrs. Connie Igleheart Brock
Dr. John Bond Mrs. Pat Chapman Huff
Mrs. Betty Jean Roberts Hunsinger Mrs. Mitzi DuPre Matthews
Mr. David Broom Ms. Amanda Martin Ms. Sarah Brown Drs. Richard & Gail Culyer
Mrs. Connie Gardner Gandy
Mrs. Pat Chapman Huff Mrs. Betty Jean Roberts Hunsinger
Mrs. Edith"Edophel"Dial Collins Dr. Cook (Mathematics) Mrs. Annita Ward Hunt Ms. June Cooper Mrs. Judith Cooper Camak Mrs. Peggy Crocker
Mrs. Pat Chapman Huff
Dr. Tracey Welborn
Mrs. Sharon Elmore Case ’68 Mrs. Carol Ann Elmore
Mrs. Pat Chapman Huff
Mrs. Mildred Abbott Currier ’24 Mrs. Suzanne Currier Soderberg Dr. Elizabeth Davidson Mrs. Susan Holroyd Shumaker Mr. Thomas "Tom" R. Davis Mrs. Pat Chapman Huff
Ms. Connie Bell Mrs. Cynthia E. Griggs Ms. Mary C. Bell Ms. Mary Ridgeway Mr. Bobb Riggs Ms. Melinda B. Norris Mrs. Marsha Eide
Mr. Robert Deese Mr. & Mrs. Richard A. Puffer Ms. Sobie Soles Dixon Mrs. Pat Chapman Huff Mrs. Patricia Hannahan Engman ’65 Mrs. Linda Crews Pearson Mrs. Jean Prentice Smith Fort
Ms. Lessie Beck Brown Mrs. Pat Chapman Huff Mrs. Wilma Boyd Burry Mrs. Pat Chapman Huff
Memory of Class of 70 classmates Mrs. Jessica Markley Lee Mr. Peter C. Coggeshall, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Lex West
Miss Ashley Barrow
Mrs. Joanne Waldrep Thomason Mrs. Jane Parler Norwood Mrs. Mary Elese Pugh Krebs Mrs. Mickey Harder
Mr. & Mrs. Albert Christian Mrs. Stuart W. Elliott Ms. Nereide G. Ellis Mr. Tom Webb & Ms. Kathryn Heath Mrs. Joan Snoddy Hoffmeyer Industrial Strength, Inc. Ms. Nancy Isakson The McCullough Family Mr. & Mrs. Mark Mealy Mr. & Mrs. Rodney Pitts Dr. & Mrs. Pinkney Rankin Mr. N. Winfield Sapp, III Ms. Roberta T. Smith
SYMPATHY Information received January 1, 2015- June 30, 2015.
Dr. Clara B. Gandy ’47 in the death of her sister Thelma Ingram Richardson ’45 on November 29, 2014 and her brother-in-law John Richardson on December 26, 2014.
Jean Shelley Andrews ’49 in the death of her husband Malcolm M. Andrews on August 17, 2012.
June Reynolds Allston ’50 in the death of her husband Joe H. Allston on April 13, 2015.
Barbara Spears Baird ’52 in the death of her husband Bob Baird in November 2014.
Sarah Sampson Bell ’53 in the death of her husband James Bell on December 24, 2014.
Frances Worley Bond ’53 in the death of her
Mr. & Mrs. William Timberlake Mr. & Mrs. George C. Todd, Jr. Dr. and Mrs. H. W. Tucker, Jr.
Mr. & Mrs. Tommy Jarrett Ms. Kathleen M. Wehman Dr. Nancy D. McLaurin
Mrs. Barbara Kalber Frampton ’38 Mr. & Mrs. Edgar H. Lawton, Jr.
Mrs. Ann Parker Gallop ’60 Mrs. Louise Atkinson Cleveland Mrs. Loree Harrington Gandy ’40 Mrs. Connie Gardner Gandy Mrs. Elizabeth Kelley Gardner ’51 Mrs. Naomi Kelley Jackson Mozelle Gold Mrs. Fran Warlick van der Vate Ms. Joan Gregg ’63 Mrs. Nancy Wilhelm
Mrs. Margaret Brown Young
Mrs. Lynda Morillo Hord
Mrs. Jennie Turner Gustafson ’63 Mr.William Ronald Hamer Mrs.Charlotte Hamer Moulton
Dr. Edwin H. Hearon, III Mrs. Rosaling Carrigan Hearon Mr. Gus Hoffmeyer Mr. & Mrs. Budgy Wilhelm Mr. Charlie Horton
Mrs. Pat Chapman Huff
Mr. Carl Huff Mrs. Pat Chapman Huff Mr. David Inabinet Mrs. Pat Chapman Huff Mr. Harold W. Jacobs, Jr. Mrs. Barbara Nexsen Lansche
Mrs. Mary Wood Nexsen
Mrs. Judy B. Askins Jacobs
Mr. Willard L. Jacobs
Mrs. Peggy Newsom Jacqmein ’53 Mrs. Pat Chapman Huff Dr. Ronald S. Johnson Mrs. Carolyn Donati Johnson Mrs. Mary Michau Jordan ’70 Mrs. Marguerite Sloman Botkin Mrs. Almeda Maxwell Kelley ’74 Ms. Lucy E. Maxwell Mrs. Diane Lambert Kimbell Dr. Joe Stevano Ms. Christine King Mrs. Pat Chapman Huff Mrs. Virginia King Hilderbrand ’70 Mrs. Ginger King Hilderbrand
Ms. Melinda B. Norris Mrs. Marsha Eide Mrs. Janie Cleckley Campbell Mr. Benny Morgan Dr. Susan Henderson Ms. Elizabeth Young Fisher Mr. & Mrs. H. Smith Holmes, Jr. Mrs. Myra Grayson Nuttall Mr. & Mrs. Lon Courtney Mr. & Mrs. Edgar H. Lawton, Jr. Mrs. Jane Woodberry Fordham Mr. & Mrs. W. Barry Adams Mr. John Julian King
Mr. & Mrs. Michael Hood Mrs. Carol Alford Edwards Mrs. Sarah McCanless Haarlow
Mr. Kenneth Lesto
Mr. & Mrs. Harris E. Deloach Jr.
Kathy D. Teal
Mr. & Mrs. Osmond W. Dixon
Mrs. Mary Kay Hennecy
Mr. Jack Bachman
Mrs. Nancy Ransome Wilson
Mrs. Pat Chapman Hufft
Mr. Bruce Smith Mrs. Pat Chapman Huff Mrs. Todd Davies Smith ’66 Ms. Melissa Patrick Lerner Mrs. Sarah Baker Speights ’65 Mrs. Linda Crews Pearson Mrs. Hunter Lawton Swann ’64 Ms. Diane Barber Mr. Willlam Tabor Ms. Mary Ridgeway Mr. Grady Teal, Sr.
Dr. James Lemke Dr. Tracey Welborn Dr. James & Harriett Courtney Lemke ’72 Mr. & Mrs. Gray Bradford
Mrs. Emma Wates Lesto ’50 Mrs. Peggy Carmichael Woodward Dr. Berry Litsey Mr. James Shupe Mr. Donald L. McCall Mrs. Kathy McCall Mrs. Annie Coe Parsons Mr. Ellis H. Parsons Mrs. Barbara McKenzie Drs. Richard & Gail Culyer Mrs. Timothea McDonald Mr. Murray F. McDonald, Sr. Mrs. Beverly Armstrong McLaughlin ’70 Mrs. Marguerite Sloman Botkin Ms. Sarah W. Mobley Mr. & Mrs. Budgy Wilhelm Mrs. Laura Camlin Moulton Mrs. Charlotte Hamer Moulton Mr. Dick Murphy Mrs. Rita Moran Mrs. Carol Duelley Nooft ’70 Mrs. Marguerite Sloman Botkin Mr. Ladson Fraser Owens, Jr. Mrs. Pat Chapman Huff
Mrs. Carolyn Edwenia Carraway Turner ’60 Mrs. Ann Matthews Bragdon Mr. Leonce & Mrs. Eleanor Vaughan Mr. Dexter C. Vaughan Ms. Margaret Welch Mrs. Pat Smith Mrs. Helen Dorn White ’20 Dr. & Mrs. Stephen Terry Mrs. Barbara Roney Whittington '59 Mrs. Betty Crawford Moore Mrs. Nancy Williams Wilson ’41 Mrs. Nancy Ransome Wilson Mrs. Betsy Chapman Williamson Mrs. Pat Chapman Huff Mrs. Barbara Roney Whittington '59 Mrs. Doris Kirk Miller Mrs. Betty Campbell Wiggins Mrs. Nancy Williams Wilson ’41 Mrs. Betsy Chapman Williamson
Mrs. Betty Jean Roberts Hunsinger
Mrs. Beth Brunson Owens Blakeslee Mrs. Pat Chapman Huff
Beverly Cole Poston ’70 in the death of her mother
husband Ladson "Lad" Fraser Owens, Jr. on August 14, 2014 and her daughter Beth Brunson Owens Blakeslee on October 13, 2014.
Ruth Lott Cole Arrington on February 24, 2015.
Glenda Hodge Quick ’91 in the death of her grandmother Lois Pack Hodge ’41 on May 14, 2014.
Marguerite A. Assey ’71 is the death of her brother
Tina Weeks Weaver ’91 in the death of her father
Joyce Collins Warwick ’54 and Frances Collins Hollowell ’54 in the death of their mother Edith “Edophel” Dial Collins on January 15, 2015.
Lucile Parker Stranch ’58 in the death of her sister Ann Parker Gallop ’60 on September 21, 2014. Martha Yarborough Truluck ’58 in the death of her husband Mac Truluck on June 9, 2015.
Jean Youngblood Ritter ’59 in the death of her husband Curtis Allen Ritter on June 5, 2015.
Linda Oliver Huggins ’62 in the death of her husband Johnnie Huggins on December 1, 2014.
Curtis Chapman ’63 in the death of his wife Donna Gates Chapman ’65 on March 8, 2015. Ann Dobson Hammond ’64 in the death of her son
Jean Lane Allen ’54 in the death of her cousin Miriam Powers Jordan ’54 on January 31, 2015.
Amanda Hubbard Sedgwick ’69 in the death of
husband William K. Jordan, Jr. on January 17, 2015.
Mr. Sam Palmieri Mrs. Myra Grayson Nuttall Mr. J.P. Phillips Mrs. Pat Chapman Huff Miss Edna Earle Poyner (Education) Mrs. Annita Ward Hunt Mr. Arthur Ross Dr. & Mrs. C. Brooks Bannister
Norma Hurst Owens ’54 in the deaths of her
husband Dr. John Bond on January 13, 2015.
Miriam Powers Jordan ’54 in the death of her
Mrs. Harriett Courtney Lemke ’72 Mr. & Mrs. Charles Hupfer
Tony Hammond on January 11, 2015. her husband Michael J. Sedgwick on December 27, 2013.
Phillip E. Assey, II on November 26, 2014.
Jane Green Avella ’71 in the death of her husband Michael G. Avella, Sr. on December 11, 2013.
Betty Young Sullivan ’71 in the death of her brother-in-law Danny Sullivan on February 21, 2015.
Mary Ann Burkee Palmieri ’74 in the death of her husband Sam Palmieri on February 10, 2015.
Janet Allen Newton ’75 in the death of her husband Stephen Francis Newton on January 27, 2015.
Henry Weeks on November 27, 2014.
Connie Bell ’93 in the death of her uncle Tom Davis on January 15, 2015.
Edward G. Fort ’93 in the death of his mother Jean Prentice Smith Fort on June 20, 2015.
Michelle Hood ’95 in the death of her grandfather Tom Davis on January 15, 2015.
Joseph Wesley O'Neal, Jr. ’95 in the death of his father Joseph Wesley O'Neal, Sr. on April 20, 2015.
Lou Anne Kinsey ’76 in the death of her mother Louise Bristow Kinsey ’53 on January 16, 2015.
Ginger D. Freeman ’04 in the death of her father
Frances Denny Morrison ’85 in the death of her mother Sophia Lottie Creed Denny ’41 on
Conrad Deese ’05 in the death of his father Robert
Emmett Ray Davis on June 27, 2015. Conrad Deese, Sr. on February 12, 2015.
February 17, 2015.
Myra Hayden Richey ’87 in the death of her fiancé Peter Collin Coggeshall, Jr. on February 22, 2015.
Dane E. Smyre, Jr. ’88 in the death of his father Dane Ernest Smyre, Sr. on March 25, 2015.
Elaine Shoemake Hungerpiller ’91 in the death of her brother-in-law Kent Hungerpiller, Jr. on January 23, 2015.
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SCHOLARSHIPS & ENDOWMENT Information received January 1, 2015- June 30, 2015.
Dr. Jill Banks Mrs. Janie Cleckley Campbell Mr. & Mrs. Lon J. Courtney, Jr. Mrs. Jane Woodberry Fordham Dr. Susan Daniels Henderson Mr. & Mrs. H. Smith Holmes, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Charles J. Hupfer
Mrs. Frances Segars Kelley
Mr. & Mrs. Julius H. Zobel, Jr.
Dr. Ye Li Ms. Darlene Small Dr. & Mrs. John M. Williams III
Dr. Pamela Gill Franklin Mrs. Carolyn Donati Johnson Dr. George Lellis Rev. Jerome McCray Mr. Larry Merriman & Professor Jean R. Grosser
Dr. & Mrs. Malcolm Doubles
Mrs. Marvin Wiggins Henry Waccamaw Community Foundation
Mrs. Teressa Thompson Harrington Mrs. Nan Carter Howard
Mrs. Augusta G. Smith
Jean Campbell Williamson Endowed Scholarship
Mr. & Mrs. Robert S. Winfield
Joanne Moody Zobel Endowed Scholarship
Mrs. Ann Matthews Bragdon
John M Williams, Jr. Study Abroad Scholarship
Dr. & Mrs. Stephen B. Terry Dr. Graham Wood
Alice & Virgil Smith Piano Scholarship Ann Ludlam Winfield ’44 Endowed Scholarship Ann Mattews Bragdon Endowed Scholarship Anna White Hill Endowed Choral Scholarship C. G. Timberlake Memorial Scholarship Mr. & Mrs. William W. Timberlake
Carrie Lee & Gustave Kalber Memorial Endowed Scholarship
Kim Chalmers Art Travel Fund
Mr. & Mrs. Tommy Jarrett Mr. & Mrs. Edgar H. Lawton, Jr. Dr. Nancy D. McLaurin Ms. Kathleen W. Wehman
Mrs. Betty Carol Mobley Bynum Ms. Charlie Hunt Chewning Mrs. Pat Chapman Huff Mrs. Betty Jean Lee Hunsinger Mrs. Elizabeth Watford Watkins
Mrs. Shep Porter Wallace
Mrs. Lynn Smith Gainey Mrs. Betty Crawford Moore Mrs. Tricia Fisher Williams
Mrs. Betty Robertson Coughlin Mrs. Tricia Fisher Williams
Mrs. Lynda Morillo Hord Mrs. Carol Phillips Kirven Mrs. Madeleine Theus McKenzie Mrs. Nancy McConnell Wilhelm
Mrs. Tiletha B. Lane
Mrs. Rebecca Hope
Mrs. Naomi Kelley Jackson Mrs. Lorena Cook James
Mrs. Susan Melody Frank
Heritage Community Bank Mr. Benny Morgan Novolex—Mr. Stanley Bikulege Sonoco Products Company
Mrs. Amanda Goyeneche Theus
Dr. Julia Klimek Dr. Rhonda Knight Ms. Margaret J. Godbey
Mrs. Barbara Nexsen Lansche Mrs. Mary Wood D. Nexsen
Class of 1953 Endowed Scholarship
Class of 1956 Endowed Scholarship Class of 1959 Endowed Scholarship
Class of 1963 Endowed Scholarship
Class of 1964 Endowed Scholarship Dr. James Lemke Memorial Fund
Malcolm C. & Jacqueline E. McLeod Doubles Endowed Scholarship Marvis Wiggins Henry Endowed Scholarship Nancy Barrineau Endowed Scholarship Nickey Brumbaugh Endowed Art Scholarship Rev. James Thomas & Eloise Browne Endowed Scholarship Randolph W. Hope Endowed Scholarship Sparrow Scholars Program Chevron Foundation Sophia Goyeneche-Gray Memorial
Dr. Lois Rauch Gibson Children’s Book Endowment
Jacqueline Everington Jacobs Endowed Scholarship
IN MEMORIAM
LIBRARY
Information received January 1, 2015 - June 30, 2015.
The following gifts of books and/or media were given to the Charles W. and Joan S. Coker Library Information Technology Center January 1, 2015 - June 30, 2015
Christine Kanar Laffin ’37 Frances Gay Simpson Sigler ’37 Sarah Myers Dickinson ’38 Helen Watford Sassard ’38 Virginia Lee Hipp ’39 Jeanne Anderson McLain ’39 Mary Helen Bennett Acker ’40 Gladys McNeill Bellamy ’40 Sophia Creed Denny ’41 Elizabeth Burriss Dandridge ’42 Ruth Greene Barton ’43 Miriam Corbett Brinkley ’43 Willie Elizabeth O'Shields Crain ’43 Louise Bentley Lawhon ’43 Elizabeth Buford Baskin ’44 Jean Barbie Smith ’44 Mabel McCoy Beasley ’45 Jewel Gasque Felkel ’45 Mirain Jordan Pate ’46 Jane Blackwell Thompson ’48 Annie Carolyn Laird Whitlock ’48 Elizabeth Eaton Howe ’49 Mary Blakely Geddings ’50 Wilma Fowler Rader ’50 Doran Joyce Berry ’51 Susan E. Watkins ’51 Peggy Newsom Jacqmein ’53 Louise Bristow Kinsey ’53 Elizabeth Bull Asnip ’54 Miriam Powers Jordan ’54 Janet Page Turner ’54 Beverly Williams Lovell ’63 Mickey McIntosh Atkinson ’55 Pat Beachum Young ’56 Mary Williamson Tallon ’57 Barbara Roney Whittington ’59 Ann Parker Gallop ’60 Bonneau "Bunny" Lesesne ’60 Carolyn Edwenia Carraway Turner ’60 Brenda Davis Bettger ’64 Bobbye Wagar Hall ’64 Donna Gates Chapman ’65 Jane Green Avella ’71 Harreitt Courtney Lemke ’72 Almeda Maxwell Kelley ’74 Janice Tinsley Marshall ’75 Anita Michelle Hanna ’88 Gloria Jean Ponds Price ’01 Jean Prentice Smith Fort—Coker Family
Dr. Jill Banks Dr. Peter Gloviczki Professor Mal Hyman Ms. Kristine Jones Ms. Areyonna Keels Mr. George Lellis Dr. Edward H. Peeples Tomeka Prescott Ms. Brandy Roscoe Dr. & Mrs. Joseph Rubinstein Mr. Dennis Schaefer Ms. Anita Jones Stanton Dr. Mac Williams
ADVANCE
James W. Lemke Chair
HONORARIUMS Information received January 1, 2015 - June 30, 2015.
Dr. Valeria Avanzato
Dr. Joe Flaherty
Dr. Paula Bailey
Dr. Joe Flaherty
Mr. Jeremy A. Easley
Dr. Joe Flaherty
Ms. Barbara Bonner Dr. Jen Borgo Class of 1965
Mr. H. Bryant Herring, Jr.
Mrs. Heather McConnell Buckelew
Mrs. Lois Sawyer Lott
Mrs. Sarah Kolb Bivins
Class of 1995
Mrs. Louise Atkinson Cleveland ’60 Mrs. Beth DuBose Cottingham ’55 Mr. Wes Daniels ’03 Mrs. Vicki Eaddy
Mr. & Mrs. Zobel Dr. & Mrs. Walter Cottingham Mrs. Marsha Eide
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Dr. Edward S. Ebert II Dr. Darlene M. Maxwell Mr. Tim Halverson ’97
Mrs. Barbara Ballentine Stuckey ’49
Mrs. Ellen Tollison Hayden
BIRTHS
Mrs. Elaine Towne
Mr. & Mrs. James C. Fort
Information received January 1, 2015 through June 30, 2015.
Dr. & Mrs. John M. Williams, III Dr. & Mrs. Walter Cottingham
Mrs. Pamela T. Franklin Dr. Sara S. Odom Mr. Shawn Lay
Linda Lee Matthews ’70 on the birth of her first
Major Robert Lide Chapter of D.A.R.
Dr. & Mrs. Walter Cottingham Mrs. Clarie C. Gaskins
Dave ’91 and Nancy Timms Matthews ’76 and Kathi Pleasant Luther ’75 on the birth of grandson
Dr. Patricia Lincoln
Caleb Samuel Luther on June 18, 2015.
Dr. Joe Flaherty Mr. Hank Alweine, II
WEDDINGS
Mrs. Beth DuBose Cottingham
Information received January 1, 2015 through June 30, 2015.
Mrs. Pat Chapman Huff
Mrs. Elizabeth P. Gnann
Mrs. Beth DuBose Cottingham
Mrs. Martha Flowers Herbert
Mr. Kevin Hoffman Mrs. Barbara Nexsen Lansche ’68 Dr. Shawn Lay
Mrs. Susanne Watts Liggett ’02
Mrs. Myra Grayson Nuttall ’74 Ms. Ellison Outen 90th birthday Mrs. Velna Rollins Patrick ’50 Drs. George & Gayle Buckheister Sawyer ’70 Dr. George P. Sawyer, Jr.
Mr. Lawton Wiggins Dr. Robert L. Wyatt
grandchild.
Caitlin Hudson Luther ’06 and Corey on the birth of son Caleb Samuel Luther on June 18, 2015.
Jessica Smith Howington ’13 on her marriage to Eric Howington on May 2, 2015. Send Us Birth Announcements About Your Children Or Grandchildren! Send Us A Wedding Photo Of The Bride And Groom With All Your Coker Guests! T HE OFFICIA L M AG A ZINE OF COKER COL L EG E, H A RT S V IL L E, S .C .
C O M M E N TA RY
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ADVANCE
KALMIA GARDENS MEMORIALS
HONORARIUMS
Information received January 1 - July 1, 2015.
Information received January 1 - July 1, 2015.
Information received January 1 - July 1, 2015.
Judy Barefoot Libba Coker Byerly Foundation Charles & Elizabeth Coker Foundation Charles & Joan Coker Foundation David Rockerfeller Foundation Sonoco Foundation Maxine Garland Karen Gentry Kalmia Garden Club Harold & Libba King Betty Jo Nichols Hazel Puyet
Ellen J. Cecil Molly & Steve Peterson Peter Collin Coggeshall Jr Lex & Sherry West Tom Davis Bobb Riggs
Susan Harvey Kathy McCall Tony Melton Kalmia Garden Club
ADVANCE
DONATIONS
Mary Ridgeway The Charles Rogers Family
Jim & Mary Lathan Steele
Sobie Dixon Harry & Rita Moran Linda Hiatt Marion & Greta Hawkins Kent Hungerpiller Kathy McCall Veronica Johnson Harry & Rita Moran Chubby Jordan Mrs. Charles D. Anderson Harriett Lemke Edgar & Nan Lawton Louise Kinsey Mrs. Charles D. Anderson Nancy Nickles Edgar & Nan Lawton Dick Murphy Harry & Rita Moran Oliver Williamson Mrs. Charles D. Anderson
Thank you for all of your support on behalf of the faculty, staff and students.
T H E A N N UA L F U N D
THE GIFT OF OPPORTUNITY A gift to the Annual Fund is more than just a gift. Every contribution, no matter the size, goes directly toward scholarships and programs that create valuable opportunities for current and future students. Your gift is an investment that makes it possible for Coker students to build a better future—for themselves, for Coker, and for our world. GIVE ONLINE AT COKER.EDU/GIFTS
IT ’S SAFE. IT ’S SIMPLE.
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FOR INFORMATION ABOUT GIVING TO THE ANNUAL FUND PLEASE CONTACT: Johnna Shirley at jshirley@coker.edu or 8 43. 383. 8016
WEB E X TR A S To view our Annual Fund video visit: youtube.com/cokercollege BECOME A SUBSCRIBER OF OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL!
W W W. C O K E R . E D U
RECOGNITIONS • Aw ards & Reco g nitions 2015
•
2015 Distinguished Service Award
2015 Outstanding Young Alumni Award
Anne Gardner Blomeyer ‘69
Wes Daniels ‘03
Conrad Deese ‘05
Anne opened Annie's Song, a retail antiques, consignment and estate services business, in 1996, after retiring from a career with GTE Corporation as an executive in planning, policies and operations. Anne has served as the president of the Innovators of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra League, and currently serves as a member of the Board of the Texas Association for Symphony Orchestras and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra League Board of Directors. Anne supports various arts and service organizations including AWARE (Alzheimers Womens’ Association for Respite and Education) and the Dallas Woman’s Forum. She served on the Coker College Board of Trustees from 1984 to 1989 and its executive committee from 1986-1988. She previously served on the Coker College Board of Visitors from 1971 to 1983.
While a student at Coker, Wes volunteered with the local Chamber of Commerce to organize a welcome event for incoming Coker College students from all the local Chamber members. During that same year, he also organized a health and safety fair for over 3,000 children in the Hartsville area. Last year, Wes was recognized by the Hartsville Kiwanis Club as the 2014 Kiwanian of the Year. He has served this organization as BBQ Chairman, Program Chairman, Club Secretary and Club President. He has also served on the Taste of Hartsville Committee, as a board member for the Black Creek Arts Council, and as a board member for the Hartsville Downtown Development Association. Currently, he serves on the Prestwood Country Club Board. Before his current position as Director of Gift Planning at The University of South Carolina, Wes served Coker College for more than seven years as Director of Campaigns.
Conrad is the Vice President of Finance for the Eastern Group of LifePoint Hospitals, a leading hospital company focused on providing quality healthcare services close to home. As Vice President of Finance, he provides oversight and direction of financial operations for the Eastern Group, including hospitals in Michigan, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Conrad began his career in healthcare with an internship at Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center in Hartsville during his senior year at Coker College. He was also a four-year member of the Cobra baseball team. After graduating from Coker, he went on to earn his MBA from the University of Florida in 2009.
2015 Algernon Sydney Sullivan Awards
Endowed Scholarship Spotlight: Sparrow Scholarship Since 2008, Coker College’s Sparrow Scholars have been making life-changing differences in Hartsville and beyond by immersing themselves in the community. Through an intense screening process involving an extensive application and an interview with the Sparrow Scholars Program Committee, one sophomore is selected each year to become a Sparrow Scholar. The student then participates in an orientation of the nonprofit organizations in Darlington County and selects a service-learning project. The scholarships are awarded based on community service, academic achievement, demonstration of leadership qualities, participation in extracurricular activities and financial need. Most recently, Sparrow Scholar Jubilee Smith ‘16 worked with the Food Recovery Network to establish a new chapter in Hartsville. Thanks to this project, food from Coker’s dining hall is now donated to the local soup kitchen. In addition to their individual projects, scholars also learn community service principles through individual and group learning experiences. Becky Sparrow ‘64 established the program in honor of her father, the late Luke Sparrow, a lifelong
W W W. C O K E R . E D U
resident of Hartsville and a great believer in the American tradition of volunteering and giving back to his community. “I have had a lifelong career as a social worker,” said Sparrow. “I know a lot about the needs that exist out there, particularly in South Carolina and in Hartsville. We wanted the scholarship to help nonprofits in the community, while also helping students practice service-learning, which is an important part of the leadership skill set.” Jubilee Smith ‘16 Taylor Muterspaugh ‘15 and Sharman Poplava, executive director of the TEACH (Teaching, Educating and Advancing Children in Hartsville) Foundation The Algernon Sydney Sullivan Foundation was created in 1934 in honor of distinguished lawyer Algernon Sydney Sullivan and his wife Mary Mildred Sullivan. The Foundation facilitates annual awards on 68 college and university campuses in the American South. Participating institutions may present the awards to graduating seniors, alumni or community members. The award is intended to recognize and honor selflessness, generosity of service, nobility of character, integrity and depth of spirituality.
T HE OFFICIA L M AG A ZINE OF COKER COL L EG E, H A RT S V IL L E, S .C .
C O M M E N TA RY
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ADVANCE
2014 Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award
NONPROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE
PAID OFFICE OF M A R K ET I NG & COM MU NIC AT IONS 300 East College Avenue
843.383.8000
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Hartsville, South Carolina 29550
1.800.950.1908
facebook.com/cokercollege
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COLUMBIA, SC PERMIT 1204
coker.edu
youtube.com/cokercollege
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
YOU ASKED, WE LISTENED:
COKER ALUMNI TRIPS ARE BACK! Space is limited, so reserve your spot now! Visit us online or call (843) 383-8082 for detailed information and pricing.
WEB EXTRAS FIND OUT MORE AT:
December 16-17, 2015, we're headed to beautiful Asheville, NC, for two full days of fun and relaxation. Activities include: • • • •
CO K E R . E D U/ ALUM N I/ TR I PS
A visit to the Grove Park Inn to view famous mountain scenery and the National Gingerbread House Competition A tour of the Biltmore Estate in all its stunning holiday décor Shopping and wine tasting at Antler Hill Village A live production of "Oliver" at the Flat Rock Playhouse