My Cobras in the Capital Experience

1962slippers and I really need and love them this winter in NYC. Bruce Williams shares that Mary Frances ('64) has an incurable disease, a form of Parkinsons. She is now in a wheelchair. But it has not dampened her spirit. Before the wheelchair, she used a walker and we were on a 54 day cruise to Africa and the Mediterranean. We hope to go on a shorter cruise in the Caribbean next year. Fred Williams has recovered well from heart surgery. He is taking senior citizen classes at USC Aiken and goes to the gym at the Heart Center 3 days a week. Fred's wife, Carolyn, has shared exciting news about her niece who lives in NY with her husband and 2 boys and is expecting twins in January. Peggy Zeigler Reeves' husband, Donnie, has had health problems I this past summer but has returned home to their precious hunting dogs. Donnie's right side has been affected and he is working hard every day on his physical therapy to strengthen his muscles to regain his ability to go hunting and to work in his shop. Good friends have been very helpful and make sure to visit their "buddy" as often as possible. 1964 Abigail Etters Pilger writes that John, her husband of almost 55 years, died in January of pancreatic cancer. As with any widow it’s been a major adjustment not to have my best friend at my side. I’m selling my home of 48 years in Dunwoody and have moved to a new home near the Square in Marietta Ga. I’m within a mile of my daughter and her family. Moving though is not for the faint of heart! I’ve still got my place in Naples Florida where I go for the winter and it’s a wonderful location for us older widows to have organized activities. My grandson Jonathan is in his 4th year of medical school and has chosen emergency room medicine as his specialty. Very demanding and fast paced. His 2 younger sisters are in the medical field also. Julia is an Occupational Therapist at Emory Hospital and Olivia is in her 3 year of nursing school. My youngest granddaughter Emma has just started at SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design). She’s from Colorado so the climate in Savannah is a real change from growing up in the mountains at 8500 feet! Susan M. Frank reports: All is well here in California. I spent the summer in Ireland working on the archaeology dig (10 years now!) and had a wonderful time as usual. Ireland is such a lovely place and the people are so kind it is sometimes hard 29 | COKER.EDU WINTER 2019 THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF COKER UNIVERSITY 30

to leave. My children, Mara and Sam, and their families are doing well and they are such a source of joy. I've applied for a volunteer position at the anthropology museum at UC Berkeley and it would be a wonderful thing to get to work with the staff and the exhibits there. Wish me luck! I found a book about the history of Coker on eBay and am up to the part when the Civ class was dismantled. What a sad thing—I really loved that course. I wish I had kept my syllabuses (syllabi?). It would be interesting to go over them again. So much work went into creating that class and I learned so much. I would have missed so much just taking the standard courses for a Biology major. It probably had a lot to do with my interest in archaeology. Naomi Jackson: There were four of us present for our 55th reunion—Lorena James (and Doug), Anne Matthews, Becky Sparrow, and myself. Anne gave a wonderful presentation about the collection and donation of the southern art she and Jeff enjoyed for many years. During her talk about the art she told those gathered how much Coker meant to her and the love and appreciation she has for our beloved alma mater. During a relaxed and tasty lunch we enjoyed chatting. Ann Dobson Hammond and I have occasional phone visits. She is a very busy retired lady and remains young at heart while she cares for a teenage grandson. The death of Jerry Sansbury saddened me. He was special to many of us. I recently talked with Mary Ann Tomlinson. She and Billy are enjoying his retirement from the farm. He does run errands as needed. Mary Ann enjoys face book so send her a message. Jean Sansbury, Nell Beasley, Anne Matthews and I have lunch several times a year in Hartsville. We enjoy our small group time together. John and I do well. We share our yard work with a college student and are so grateful for him. Actually we do very little other than admiring God’s beautiful creation around us. Hope all of you are well and appreciate the bonds Coker provided us. Linda Milam Law: Our summer was quiet but we did meet our New Jersey family at The Outer Banks for a week. Our grandson had his drivers permit so he loved taking us anywhere! Anne Matthews: I stay very busy. I travel the globe speaking and doing humanitarian work for Rotary. Just came back from Kenya and Ghana. I was so pleased that we built an elementary school in the Tain District of Ghana, a dream finalized! I have been to Ghana five times and love Ghana and its people! I have a precious great, great niece Anne Davis Manning (my namesake) and her brother, Jefferson, who are so special and who are my LIFE. I meet Naomi, Jean, and Nell for lunch about every three months in the Hartsville area. I love being with them!! Life is good and I am blessed. Nell Bates Beasley: I am still very active in Bishopville Pilot Club and go to Bishopville once a month for meetings. I attend Fall Councils and District Conventions but haven't gone to International meetings lately. No more dancing (but I do miss it). I use my cane when my back or knee acts up. Haley (granddaughter) is a junior at Carolina and Chad (grandson) is a senior at North Myrtle Beach. They sure have grown up fast. Michael (son) and Heather live close by as well as Michelle (daughter). I usually see Naomi Kelly Jackson, Jean Smith Sansbury and Anne Lamb Matthews about five times a year. We meet, eat, laugh and talk about old times. Sometimes Margaret Lind and Mary Ann McCaskill Tomlinson joins us. Classmate Jerry Sansbury died recently. Pat Holland Chapman: I have a new grandchild, our first grandson after five granddaughters. We are happy to welcome Abram Chapman to our family. A highlight of our summer was a trip to Israel. We traveled with a group from Prosperity and Lexington arranged by Overseas Adventure Tours. We spent 12 very busy days walking, seeing numerous sights, many churches, and a great deal of ancient ruins and places of interest. We sailed on the Sea of Galilee as well as “floated” in the Dead Sea. Ann Dobson Hammond: Marshall and Nita Danenburg drove to Greer from Buford, GA in July and we went for a visit with Doug and Lorena James. It was good to be with them once more. I've had a wonderful visit today with Sarah Ann and Wendy Horton who were vacationing in the North Carolina mountains and came by Greer on their way to Greenville for the weekend. It was great to see them. I stay busy (and tired!) keeping up with Noah. He is in 7th grade and has run cross country this fall for the first time. He's also active in Boy Scouts and that gives me a group to communicate with as we wait for our boys to complete their activities. Thank goodness moms don't have to go camping with Boy Scouts like we did when they were Cub Scouts! I exercise in a class three times a week, participate in a Prayer Group at my church and play handbells in our church choir. Trying to fit in a baseball game every now and then with another grandson's team can be hard to do! I am truly grateful for the years we had together at Coker and for the friends who continue to bless me. Mary Louise Antley Glesner (with comments by Cameron Speth) Same ole, same ole (similar to mine and everyone else I bet): getting rid of stuff (we are fighting that battle constantly), cataract surgery (next year??), enjoying visits from kids and grandkids—no more babies (best part of summer for us), grand puppies (until they want you to babysit the pups!), joining fitness center (I'm doing yoga and love it), writing stories for and about grandkids (finally there is time to write and read and reflect). 1965 Karen Kuehner and husband Bill Bailey live in Georgetown, SC, and enjoy condo living. They have been traveling a good bit – England, France, Egypt, and Greece, and now are ready to stay home a bit. Karen and Bill are involved in a book club and a movie club. Judy Cottingham Lawing and John feel like empty nesters all over again. Their granddaughter, Holly Gray, is a freshman at the University of Central Oklahoma majoring in musical theater. She is exceptionally talented in theater, opera, academics, and music. Last year Holly was head dance captain of the Grace Cougarettes Drill Team, and was named The Fine Arts Student for Texas’ Association of Private and Parochial Schools. Their grandson, Gerald Gray, Jr. is a senior at Texas State University where he is majoring in finance. Gerald was a goalie for his soccer team in high school, so this is the first time in eight years that Judy and John have missed football/soccer games. Their daughter Stacey is a pharmacist and lives about two miles from their house. Liles Richardson Nickerson writes that she has become very reflective and appreciative this year. She spends each summer in Maine where she is able to paddle a canoe to a friend’s ‘magical island,’ watch eagles feed their young in the treetops, and enjoy the beauty of rocks, ferns, and moss. Liles enjoys vegetable gardening and loves spending time with her adorable granddaughter, son, and sculpture-partner. Her trip to NYC in December will include a concert by the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center. Peggy Boatwright Peck still volunteers at a resale shop in Hartsville that supports the local dog pound. She, Nereide Ellis, and Judy Coker still go to the beach in the fall. Peggy loves spending time with her darling eight-year old granddaughter who is backflipping, wall climbing, and hating homework. She enjoys hearing from classmates and really misses friends who have left campus. Hoot Ramsey Synder still lives in Oregon and recently moved to a little cottage in a cherry grove with a creek and balcony where she enjoys a peaceful view of trees and beautiful flowers with her morning coffee or evening toddy. Hoot’s daughter turned fifty in September and her baby is forty-eight. She lives near her son and his family and enjoys spending time with their two children, Silas, age 13 and Mia, 9. Hoot’s daughter lives on the east coast, so she doesn’t get to see her and her children, ages 30 and 13, often. “I live a very simple and solitary life, enjoying the love of my family and many, very devoted friends in my community. We are a close-knit bunch. I do some dog sitting for a neighbor, and their two large black labs keep me on my toes. I still do a little writing and am having fun with poetry and doing some employee manuals for local businesses and industries.” Hoot welcomes visitors to the amazing place she calls home. Judy Johnson Walker writes that although her husband John has had some health issues, they continue traveling and love coming to Clemson for football games. Byron and I had the pleasure of having Judy and John for dinner recently in our home, and we talked non-stop reminiscing about our wonderful years at Coker. Byron and I celebrated our 50th anniversary in June with a river cruise on the Seine River. I thought of our Coker professors every day as I saw architecture, paintings, etc. that were covered in our western civ classes. Although I retired in 2017, I still serve as Artistic Director of the Utsey Chamber Music Series at Clemson which Byron and I started in 1986. Every January I go to NYC for several days to hear artists that I book to perform at Clemson. Our three grandchildren live within an hour of us and keep us busy going to soccer, baseball, basketball, and lacrosse games. Sadly, our classmate Eleanor Powell Clark died on June 12 at McLeod Hospice House. We all remember what a talented artist Eleanor was. Jane Crews wrote that she was so proud to have two of Eleanor’s oil paintings from Coker days. Eleanor is

survived by a daughter, a son, and three grandchildren. 1968 Class of ’68, are any of you having difficulty reconciling the name Coker University? As for me, I will remain steadfast as a Coker College Graduate. It is, however, exciting to see all the advancements happening on Campus. Ellen Tollison Hayden wrote about her impressions of Coker Life as we knew it, “a sisterhood sans the sororities “. She noted that Coker has definitely evolved in alignment with social changes. Becoming a widow in May 2014 dictated that she expend more energy than one would perhaps choose in learning to fly solo. Staying busy with

Pat Brooks, ‘91,

publishes new book In June, Pat Brooks, ‘91, published a new book with co-author Ed Naggiar, The Suit and the Seal: Your Guide to Becoming Mission Resilient at Work, Home, and at Play. “What do you do when you get knocked down? Do your days routinely get turned sideways by forces outside of your control? Do the people around you that you care about the most often get neglected as you put out fires from work? Have you been meaning to get back into shape but haven’t found the time or motivation to make it happen? If any of this sounds remotely like you and your situation, grab this book and spend some time with Pat and Ed. Pat, a successful business owner in the world of financial planning and finance and Ed, a retired US Navy SEAL (20 years) and an MBA/PhD. Together they will share with you some life lessons and case studies revealing how they have deal with adversity. It is an honest look inside the minds of two dynamic entrepreneurs along with tips and tricks that you can use to attack challenges in your life. Join us in getting cold, wet and sandy as you dig into becoming resilient.” The book is available for purchase on Amazon.com. family, volunteer service with the Salvation Army, and a modicum of travel gives her no reason to not humbly report that she is blessed beyond measure. Judi Hege Bailey and Bren are looking forward to an upcoming trip to Jamaica and then later a cruise in the Caribbean. After her left knee replacement Judi required a second hospitalization and found out that she was lactose intolerant. She remarked that the bright side of this new eating plan resulted in weight loss, so that this “hard way” diet left her thinner than when we graduated. She’s still active with the Shepherd’s Center of Winston-Salem and the Virginia Tech Dean’s Advisory Board. She and Bren have really been enjoying the mild Corvette weather as they take -1968