It is always my joy to connect with classmates. I have received greetings to pass on to the class from: Gail Townsend, Nancy Stoutamire, Pam Hall and Hyatt Brandt. It is good to know they are doing well and sending greetings.

I was finally able to contact June Rownd; we quit playing phone tag. I had a delightful conversation with her. She shared she is staying in out of the heat and just tunes in some TV shows she finds interesting. She was planning to call with her older son, AJ, who is currently in Northern California. She wanted to see if he was experiencing the horrible heat wave some in the Northwest have been enduring. She joked about how AJ had decided to see the USA in his Toyota ������Ƶ� like they used to advertise ������Ƶ�See the USA in your Chevrolet������Ƶ�, as you might recall. AJ pans to return in October. Her younger son, Josh,�� lives near and they have lunch together often. She shared she had had lunch with Frankie Watson a few months back but did not realize she had moved to Summerville.

I checked in with Frankie Watson and happened to catch her on a visit with her daughters. Frankie had spent several days with her daughter, Fran, who is moving from one city in Colorado to another. She was just winding up her trip with her other daughter, Grace, who lives in Tucson, Arizona. She expressed how in this stage of her life she was enjoying being able to spend more time with family. You may recall she had moved to Summerville to be closer to her son, Brian, and his family. Because of her move to Summerville, she had enjoyed being able to spend more time with her grands and other family members. Her church work had kept her so busy over the years that she had not had as much time to be with various family members. It was a joy to be able to speak with her also.

Patti Combs wrote to share this:

I am rolling along in Charleston.�� Completed my part time job at Dillard������Ƶ�s first of Jan.�� Presently I am working at Publix.�� I asked to be a cleaner or a shelver of stock. But that was denied. I then asked for the training manual.�� There is none.

Hence customer service here I come.�� My trainer had to have been a general in the last war.�� She was loud and intimidating.�� But somehow, I made it through boot camp.

Having been in education for 41 years, I thought how hard could this job be!!

Speed is everything.�� Working slowly and deliberately is not an option. Therefore my 74-year-old brain cells have had to rev up.

On a light note I really enjoy the people I work with.�� I have adjusted to a different kind of work atmosphere.�� But change is good!

So we������Ƶ�ll see how long I can stay out of the ������Ƶ�Principal������Ƶ�s������Ƶ� office!�� My boss is 32!�� I may be the oldest employee.

Somehow we got old, but we������Ƶ�re not down yet.

Sending my love to all my classmates. You are forever a part of my cherished memories. Love never ends, my friends.

Jackie Patterson shared this news:

After 20 years as an Assistant Principal at South Florence High School ��I am retiring! I will miss my SFHS professional colleagues and friends and especially the more than 300 ������Ƶ�������Ƶ�new������Ƶ� freshman I worked with each year but the time has come! I will be moving to my house on Lake Wateree and look forward to more leisure time with my son, Walt, and his family and my sister, Carol, and her family. �� Coker friends are always welcome������Ƶ� hope to see you at the lake soon!

To each of my classmates: It is my delight to make contact and to share where life has each of you currently. Please continue to share and keep us each connected. Coker gave us a bond for which I am grateful.�� I am thankful to say Jim and I are doing well and are glad to be back to somewhat of the lifestyle we experienced before we lost a lot a year of our lives. Jim still has his business and is not currently planning on giving it up. I have returned to church activities and ministries I was not able to do during the shut down of so much because of Covid. My love and thanks for each of you������Ƶ�Connie Brock

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Reveley Wilson Thomy – Happy to say she is all better after contracting the Covid virus.

Miriam Anderson – She and John are happy to report they are moving to Franklin, NC soon to begin the next chapter of their lives. John just retired from American Airlines. We wish them the best. Miriam������Ƶ�s grandson, Cooper just turned 10 years old and lives up in NY state with his mom, Kristen. Miriam has three other grandchildren from her son, Ryan.

Betsy Mauldin McCray – After a fall incident on her horse, Betsy is almost recovered from her injuries and ready to ride again. Glad you are doing better, Bruce!

Susie Dunklin Guerry – Busy as ever with volunteering, sewing, decorating for others and camping, she continues to embrace retirement. She even sews for third world women! Susie also helps out at the local market on the weekend. She and Bert went camping in May to Tennessee, NC and Georgia. They are really enjoying their new bigger camper.

Diane Roden Dinneny – Life has been a bit more challenging this year with keeping Owen������Ƶ�s cancer under control. Clinical trials, radiation and traveling to the cancer center each week keeps us busy. I am still doing some real estate during these crazy times with limited inventory and multiple offers. Hope to head up to the Adirondack mountains in July for a change of scenery. Finally also met my 15 month old great nephew from CA. Girls are good; another Masters for Kate and a new job as Digital Creative Concepts Manager for Megan. I have also enjoyed catching up with Sally Rogers Boyle, my freshman roommate these past few months.

Debbie Scarboro Snyder – Debbie has also been in touch with Sally and Penny and know they are planning a get together in Greenville with her. Prayers for Debbie������Ƶ�s dad������Ƶ�s wife who has had some health issues.

Jackie Szczepanik – Is looking for news of our class as she doesn������Ƶ�t get the Commentary mailed to her in Australia. If anyone can scan the pages from our past ones and send her that might work. Still don������Ƶ�t have her address or email!

I really wish we would get some more news from our class members! Enjoy the summer everyone.

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Do I dare speak of the birthday most of us are celebrating during this year?
It������Ƶ�s such a joy to share news of accomplishments of our classmates������Ƶ� families. Betty Jean Lee Hunsinger������Ƶ�s granddaughter, Dr. Lauren Gasque Kuykenrall, was chosen Outstanding Faculty Member at George Mason University where she and her husband David both teach. Betty Jean������Ƶ�s grandson, Conan Gasque and his wife are expecting their first child in September.
It was wonderful to spend an afternoon with Charlie Chewning whose niece had come to celebrate Mother������Ƶ�s Day weekend and arranged a get-together with friends. Charlie is still residing at Bethea Baptist Home near Darlington. Joyce Bell keeps in touch with Charlie and calls regularly.
How nice it was to receive a note from Joan Carter McKissick thanking me for the memorial for her husband John. She spoke of the many wonderful memories of her years at Coker and the friends she made there.
How saddened we were to learn of the death of Lynne Eidson Dudley. She was a Hartsville native and I had taught with her mother. Lynne������Ƶ�s granddaughter is now practicing medicine in Hartsville.
It������Ƶ�s so exciting to hear that Jean Fore McDaniel and Mac plan to come to their Pawleys Island home for a visit in September. I know they will enjoy being there.
Mickey McDowell, husband of Anne Merck, is still living happily at Clemson. He is so fortunate to have children nearby.
We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Beth DuBose Cottingham������Ƶ�s book. She loves the people of Kingstree and they love her. She and Jo Ann Boyd Sires are wonderful friends.
I keep in touch with Sarah Sampson Bell. She is very fortunate to have all three sons and their families living close enough to visit often.
As I write, Mitzi DuPre Matthews is recuperating in National Health Center after a hospital stay with pneumonia and other issues. She is so good about keeping in touch with Jennie Herlong Boatwright and Daphen Yarborough Edge.
I have been living with my daughter Brenda and her husband Keith Stewart in Marion sinceJanuary. I was diagnosed with spinal stenosis and after falling several times I came to live with them ������Ƶ�temporarily.������Ƶ� I love being here and enjoy another daughter Nancy������Ƶ�s visits when her school day ends. She lives just a few blocks away. I want to go home and pray that I can improve enough that it will be safe for me to live alone. I am expecting my 10th great-grandchild any day now. It������Ƶ�s a boy! 6 boys and 4 girls. Wouldn������Ƶ�t Carl love this family?
My prayers and love are with each of you as we have all experienced an unbelievable period of our lives. May COVID soon be completely gone.
Cokernuts, do you know how blessed we are to reach our age? I would never have dreamed we would have lived this long.

Happy 90th Birthday,
Pat Chapman Huff

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Sara Ann Baughman Noll: The Class of 1961 is proud of Sara Ann������Ƶ�s daughter,
Tony nominee, Christiane Noll, who has a beautiful voice like Sara Ann. She������Ƶ�s had an impressive career both on Broadway, as a concert performer with symphony orchestras across the globe and also as a recording artist. She is excited for Broadway to open back up this Fall 2021 after the Coronavirus shut it down in 2020. She has performed in several virtual concerts while Broadway was shut down. Christiane������Ƶ�s website is : ChristianeNoll.com
She������Ƶ�ll be back on Broadway in DEAR EVAN HANSEN beginning in December 2021.
Christiane appeared on GOOD MORNING AMERICA-ABC-TV on June 1, 2021 as part of the DEAR EVAN HANSEN segment. You can see this at Jordan Fisher performs ������Ƶ�You Will Be Found������Ƶ� from ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ Click on You Tube.com version to see the Good Morning America segment.
Sara Ann������Ƶ�s daughter has on a royal blue top and is on the back row. This is an original musical written by Benji Pasek and Justin Paul. It won a Tony Award in 2017. This Broadway play tells the story of a young man with social anxiety disorder who so yearns to make a connection with his peers that he fabricates a relationship with a deceased student to become closer to the boy������Ƶ�s family. To read about this play the link is:
https://stageagent.com/shows/musical/7745/dear-evan-hansen
Christiane������Ƶ�s husband is an actor and singer also. And their 12 year old daughter is very talented. She has a beautiful voice, plays the piano, trombone, ukulele, and
and holds a brown belt in JiuJitsu.

Please remember to send your gift to the Scholarship Fund or Annual Fund. The deadline for 2021 is on June 30, 2021.

������Ƶ�The great thing about getting older is that you don������Ƶ�t lose all the other ages you have been.������Ƶ�
Madeleine L������Ƶ�Engle. Edna DuRant Ellis, 1961 Class Representative.

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Melissa (Missy) Maude, my fellow Snotty Snail family member from the Class of 1988, sent me a message that made me a little jealous. Melissa shared that she just retired, and that she is spending a good bit of time playing tennis, golf, and full body ping pong ( Pickleball). I would love to see some videos of full body ping pong! While Missy says that she gives retirement a 5 Star Rating, she is also doing some ad hoc coaching for people looking for better jobs / new careers. I would bet that she is pretty busy with that considering how many people lost jobs in the last year. Her son , William , will be a junior at Utah State so the family will take some trips to the national parks in that area along with several other road trips this summer.

Jenni Field ,from the Class of 1988 , is a recipe developer and food photographer for her own business, Pastry Chef Online . Prior to that, she worked as a pastry chef after attending culinary school. Jenni also taught special education for 16 years. I love the following line from Jenni������Ƶ�s website , ������Ƶ�I will teach you the ������Ƶ�whys������Ƶ� behind the ������Ƶ�hows������Ƶ� of cooking and baking. Once you learn those fundamentals, you������Ƶ�ll be more relaxed and more creative in the kitchen.������Ƶ� I am not sure that knowing the ������Ƶ�whys������Ƶ� behind the ������Ƶ�hows������Ƶ� will help me become a better cook. However, I can tell you that the pictures on the website look incredible! Jenni also shared that Jeff Riehm, also Class of 1988, is a senior IT engineer for Enviva Biomass and loves his job. Perhaps the most impressive accomplishment is that Jenni and Jeff are the parents of 8 cats, and they foster other cats when needed. That sounds like a 24 / 7 job !

Alexandria Gossett Shifflet, Class of 1990, is living in Georgia where she teaches Audio, Video, Tech & Film for Gwinnett County Public Schools. Alex is preparing to start her 20th year of teaching! Her husband, Todd, is the CEO of Georgia Highlands Medical Clinics. Their daughter ,Grace, goes to Eckerd College in St. Petersburg Florida, and their son ,Whitman, goes to Georgia State.

Amy Ross, Class of 1990, is working for Waccamaw Regional Council of Governments as the Performance and Compliance Manager for the area’s WIOA program. Amy was kind enough to share that WIOA is a federally funded program that (among other things) helps pay for occupational skills training for people with low income and/or other barriers to employment or self-sufficient wages. Amy lives in Wilmington, NC. However, as things start to return to some sense of normalcy, she will resume traveling to the SC Works Office along the coast several times a month. Amy also shared that her son ,Kai, just completed his sophomore year at ������Ƶ! Congratulations, Kai!

Mark Waldrop, Class of 1990, works in Columbia. He has three girls that are still in school. Mark stays in touch with Jeff Vick , and says that Jeff is doing well. I know that there have to be other Coker grads or attendees that you keep in touch with. If so, please do like Mark, and send us a quick update. It doesn������Ƶ� have to be a detailed account of everything that is going on with the person. Just let us know how they are doing.

Michael Gabbard ,who would have been in the Class of 1990, has been working as a kitchen and bath designer at Home Depot since 2012. Michael and his partner , David met and married in Florida. After making Florida their home for almost 30 years, they moved to Hilton Head in 2017. Michael says that he and David spend most of their ‘free time’ gardening and wrangling 2 very active but aging dogs, 1 zen-like cat, and 1 lovable terror deceptively called a “kitten”. Maybe you could reach out to Jenni and Jeff for some assistance with the cat and kitten.
David Matthews, Class of 1991, works at The South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics as their IT Director. He has a daughter that is a junior at Anderson University majoring in Digital Media. David is excited to have his four step grandchildren in Hartsville now. When he is not busy with family , David makes giant soap bubbles. Check out That Hartsville Bubble Guy when you get a chance!

Heather Breen-Snow, Class of 1992, lives in the Washington DC metro area. She has worked for the county mental health department for the past 15 years. Heather currently supervises a team of Jail & Forensic Diversion clinicians trying to help people get treatment and resources to prevent incarceration & recidivism. Heather also manages a residential facility for people with serious mental illness. She will be developing a private practice soon, but that will have to wait until after her daughter gets married this fall. Best wishes for a successful launch of your private practice, Heather! Keep us posted.

Dale and Julie (Plyler) Leatherwood , both from the Class of 1992, live in the Orlando area, and are the parents of two great boys who are both in college locally. Dale is in higher education in an executive role, and also co-founded and co-owns ClearDegree, an education concierge service helping working adults find a college degree program. Julie works for a Title company and keeps things running smoothly in the middle of the crazy Florida real estate market.
Heather McConnell Buckelew was excited to share that she has been accepted into the MPA program at Villanova. Heather wants to expand her knowledge after making a career change to local government. Greater involvement in local government is a need in most communities. We look forward to hearing about all the great ways that Heather has an impact on strengthening local governments!

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Betty Saunders Brooking unfortunately died on June 4, 2021 from complications related to Alzheimer’s. Her funeral was held in Ellicott City, MD. And her interment was held on 06/09121 in Timonium, MD. I believe she and husband, Hurley had moved to be close to one of their sons in Maryland.

It has been really nice to catch up with some of you and hope to remind you that we all would like to hear from everyone! Let’s see if my old brain can work well enough to collect and write up any news you are good enough to share. I hope you are well and have been able to function in spite of all the lockdowns, etc…We would love to find out about any plans, memories and changes in your lives. lf you know any news of our classmates and especially new or changed email and snail mail addresses, telephone numbers, l’d be so grateful to hear.

Our Class news is organized alphabetically by the last names we used when attending Coker. Bless you all and enjoy this summer,

Gaby
300 East 54th Street, New York, NY 10A22
212.832.7462 and gaby.morandiere@verizon.net

Mary Bell Kittle and Joe have returned to Orkney Spring, VA for the summer and fall. They so enjoyed driving through a lot of upper Midwestern states last summer and fall. This past spring they drove from San Antonio to the Grand Canyon and back by way of Roswell, NM. lt has been wonderful to be able to visit so many places and meet so many interesting people. Mary and I were laughing about the fact that we’ve gotten so old and are so surprised.

Sherrie Berry Wolski – 5/16/21
My year—For Christmas my husband, Pat, gave me a small battery powered chain saw. lt is so neat, cuts pretty big limbs as big as the top part of my leg. Okay, I know I am not big. He doesn’t have a look of horror on his face when I use this one like he does every time I tell him I have to use the big chain saw. He just got a battery powered hedge trimmer for my birthday next month. I think he was either worried that I would electrocute myself if I kept using it or he was tired of taping the electric cord back together. Pat fell twice in
January and I could not get him up the second time. Called the Fire Department and they got here while I was still on the phone. They are only a fourth of a mile away. Took him to our hospital and after all the tests they sent him to the big hospital in Orlando. A woman doctor came in and started talking and you knew she knew what she was talking about. You don’t find doctors like that too often. She operated and cut the backs off five of his neck vertebra. He was in the operating room from 9:30 until 5:30. Hey he is eighty-one and I was getting worried. He said when he woke up the nurse told him to count from a hundred backwards by sevens. He said he ask her if she was kidding. Then he started and she said stop you are going too fast. Then she wanted to know how on earth he did it because no one had ever been able to do it. The next day when the doctor came in, she was so excited and called him her miracle patient. Said none of his stats changed the whole time. He is doing very well I think, but still has work to do on his walking. I am very blessed. Thank you God for always being with me.

Peggy Brown Buchanan 6/12/21 sounds well and happy. She is really blessed to be living in The Bishop Gadsden Episcopal Retirement Community. She enjoys the lectures, activities, the physical exercise programs, the people and wonderful meals. Peggy plays the piano for some Sunday night services. Her daughters are well and happy and her grand-twins have graduated from High School. Her granddaughter is planning to attend the College of Charleston this fall and her grandson enjoys a job working in landscaping and gardening.
I have her correct cell phone number and new email address.

Charlotte Daggett Bauguss says: I have such good memories of my “Coker nut” experience. Richard and I continue to be relatively well and sad news like this about Betty Saunders Brooking enforces our gratitude for ability to live independently. While the pandemic has certainly put a pause to our travel, we have arranged a few family trips to beach and mountains. Hope our other classmates are well. Enjoy every day.

Doris Duke Straight lives near Columbia where a daughter and a granddaughter live with her. Her son’s children are growing up and they live nearby. Doris is Iooking forward to visiting with her sister in McClellanville for a week,

Carol Elting Richardson has been well, and is grateful for the fact that her son, Brad, lives in their house and has been a big help this year. Carol has spoken to Charlotte Daggett Bauguss from time to time, but they have not been able to have real face-to-face visits.

Judith Ann Griggs is happy that her church is being able to function again and discovered that the daughter of their current minister is attending Coker. Various members of Judy’s family have missed their usual gatherings. But she mentioned that one of her cousins and she especially enjoy their Christmas Eves, when she and her cousin love to give gag gifts to each other. Last Christmas Eve Judy’s cousin made and gave Judy 12 masks with special designs for each month! Each one has come in very handy to celebrate each month.

Molly Holbrook Thomas – 5/16/21
Not much going on for me but as of today my upcoming trip to Jordan, Egypt, Petra, and the ancient Pyramids is on. Of course, this trip could be canceled at any time due to world events. I leave in late August and return mid September. This is the trip I have always dreamed of being able to take and if I don’t go now my age may not allow it later. Presently, my health is good, good sight and hearing is working well and I have the energy for such a trip. But I must remember that I am now, like most of us in the 1962 Coker class, in my eighties. This is considered advanced aging so I need to remember this. My children are well as are my grands, My newest family addition, a male cat who I have named Sebastian, has become a dear, sweet friend. He and I get along well together and seem to be able to read each other’s thoughts. Being quite young, he has kept me active during these months of isolation and given me great companionship. He will no doubt outlive me, being an indoor-only cat, so I have told my boys that I am leaving the house to the cat. That way I will know he is taken care of. (You know I am teasing.) Some of the activities that I was involved in are beginning to come back to life. lt seems like a rebirth of one’s life to me after these many months of confinement. Taking off the mask and being able to breathe freely again is reason to celebrate and get on with our lives. I thank God every day for life, health, and freedom of choice. I choose
to be happy and hope each of you do too.

Peggy McCue Freymuth via Facebook 06/12/21
I had surgery on my neck to replace a disc that appeared to be the
cause of numbness and tingling in my right arm and hand. That went well and reduced the pain level most of the time. However, a fall in which I landed flat on my back seems to have been the final straw for my right rotator cuff. I have surgery to replace the joint in July and hope that will eliminate the numbness and tingling on the right side. Yesterday, for about five minutes, my hand and most of my arm felt like it was on fire-far worse than any sunburn or regular burn l’ve ever had. Thank goodness it did not last longer. I finally seem to be on the verge of closing Wayne’s estate. I spent three hours with the accountant last Tuesday and have the tax forms ready to go in the mail. I dropped a copy off with the lawyer on my way home so things should progress from there. I will be SO happy when that is finally done. My brain no longer functions as it once did. Thank God for accountants! And to think I once thought of becoming one. lt’s a good thing I stuck with history. I took all the accounting classes Coker had but they did not have a major in it. I would not have left my friends nor the Civilization course to go anywhere else. My family is well. Anne and Shane have traveled several times so far this year and have three more trips planned. Harleigh continues to work for the same shoe store. While she is tired of it, a big advantage of moving between their stores here and in Beaufort she may keep it up until she graduates next year. Tanner starts his first real job on Thursday at a new car wash. He will finish high school next year and he has taped a video called Friday Nights under the direction of a local professional producer. He wrote the song and sings it. lt streams on YouTube and is pretty good, but of course, I am somewhat prejudiced. Grandmas have that right, I think. He had a solo in the theater arts program this year, receiving thunderous applause. How he can sing and act as though he is crying at the same time is beyond me. They were studying “Oklahoma” in class recently and he came home dying to play Curly, the lead, if you recall. He does have ambitions. I keep reminding him that music is a difficult business to break into but try not to discourage him but it is awfully quiet here. Do you have any idea how many of our class are still among the living? So many have passed away. Love to our classmates always, so many happy memories of days long gone.

From Lee McCown Huey: The plague year wasn������Ƶ�t bad at all for me. My sister(Coker ������Ƶ�66) is also a widow. Our children brought her to my house last spring, and we spent the quarantine year together. It was wonderful for both of us. Never ran out of conversation or laughs. My son is across the road and kept us supplied. We have the best memories now. I have been in Delaware to celebrate my mother in law������Ƶ�s 103rd birthday. My daughter and I took her for a merry go round ride, which she loved. More good memories of days with my husband������Ƶ�s family after two years. I wish I could see our classmates. It is important to me at this time in my life.

Gabrielle (Gaby) Morandiere
So let’s see if my brain can work well enough to collect and write up any news you are good enough to share. I hope you are well and have been able to function in spite of all the lockdowns, etc… l know our classmates would love to find out about any plans, memories and changes in our lives. If you know any news of our classmates and even new or changed addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses, I’d be so grateful to hear. What a long and difficult time we have all been going through with Covid! New York City has changed drastically. We have been locked into our apartments for the most part and I am so grateful to have a small balcony where I can sit in a chaise with arm rests and a footrest while I look down 7 floors to watch the seasons change in a garden/park. lt has been a delight to have young children run, play and scoot. They have been learning to climb steps to and from a ledge even in ice and snow. Fortunately I have been able to order groceries and microwaveable meals from two places that deliver to my building and when the staff can bring the deliveries up to my apartment. I and a lot of other older people have forgotten how to walk on our streets properly – but we are improving and balancing better now that the weather is improving and the politicians are loosening some of their orders. Bless you all and enjoy this summer,

From Dee Pierce: formerly friend and contact for our alumni class of 1962, is the magician who made our reunions work so nicely and helped make sure that our class news was included in Coker’s newsletters. She recently wrote “l am writing to let you know that on May 28, my position at Coker will be eliminated and this email address will be gone.” I could never have succeeded as class representative without Dee’s help!

Valerie Powell White reached out just in time, thank goodness. She sounds just like herself and it was wonderful to catch up. Val had a hip replacement operation and while it has helped, there are some difficulties recuperating. Her daughter, Vanessa, who works for the NIH, was able to take about six weeks to stay with her recuperating mother and was able to work remotely. Vanessa has gotten married, and the two have decided to leave the big city of Washington and have bought a house in Bethesda, MD, where their lives can be more normal. They are waiting a while to actually move. Val enjoys being able to work in her garden and has continued to walk a neighbor������Ƶ�s dog for exercise, but the poor dog is showing it������Ƶ�s age. Val has especially missed her Yoga classes but looks forward to being able to find ways to move her body again. Oh, my! She was such a beautiful dancer. It is really hard to grow older, as we are all finding out!

Frances Segars Kelley sadly lost her husband, Henry, a year ago. She writes that she is finally getting out and going after COVID. Am at Camp Kinard near Columbia with 31 other ladies. We are having a sewing/quilting retreat. lt is fun to finally see and be with friends. Plan on spending a lot of time at the lake this summer and at the beach this fall.

Flo Staklinski Taylor – 5/16/21
Bill and I are vaccinated and ready to travel, HA! We wore masks and have been blessed in our health. Our trips to Greece and ltaly are cancelled. So, Hilton Head, SC and Carolina Beach, NC are on the calendar! We have extended our travels to 2022. Hope you all are well.

Nancy Thornhill Bolden
Nancy sounds happy, busy and well. She reports that her daughter has remarried – to a very nice man who has twins the same age as her son, Luke. Luke is now 6’3″, has his drivers’ license and wants to be a fisherman. Nancy has unfortunately lost a wonderful friend who enjoyed dancing and good music and would take Nancy on interesting and wonderful trips. Their last trip was to Puerto Rico where they enjoyed dancing and loved their bands.

Joanne Tuten Bellamy sounds happy and cheerful and is enjoying her yard and dogs. She’s been taking some trips to doctors in Charleston and sometimes her son, Mark, drives her there. She says that Pawley’s lsland has been bracing for a lot of traffic because so many people are happy to travel a bit again.

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Eight members of the Class of 1970 met on Zoom Saturday April 10th, to catch up, share memories and just see each other. This was the third chosen date for our reunion to be held in person but because of Covid, once again our date was moved forward a year. We decided to meet on Zoom on this date. The attendees were: Ginger King Hilderbrand, Nell Cutts Daniels, Ginny French Lyles, Jane Brown Riechmann, Judie Cooper Camak, Becky Tuten Varner, Gayle Buchheister Sawyer and Brenda Thompson Stewart. Classmates that were unable to meet and contacted me were: Anne Bodenheimer Bell, Jane May Gable, Myra Cato Coffey and Genevieve White Sharpe.
We had a wonderful time remembering events like the ������Ƶ�Jug band������Ƶ�, slamming doors to begin study hour, and a unlucky transom break due to a slammed door! We were so lucky to be able to use this marvelous tool to meet even if we can������Ƶ�t meet face to face. We do hope to meet again on Zoom before our next projected reunion date.
Ann Bodenheimer Bell was not able to attend our zoom gathering because they were in Sarasota watching their granddaughter compete in a swim meet. She is the swimmer of the year for the state of Colorado high school��Class 5a swimming. She is also going to the Olympic trials for swimming this summer and is on the Junior National swim team. They are very proud of her and can������Ƶ�t wait to watch her compete. They don������Ƶ�t get that opportunity very often since she lives in Colorado.��Her dad, Ann������Ƶ�s oldest son, is a professor of meteorology at Colorado State, just put out the��hurricane forecast for the year today. His specialty is hurricanes and is��part of the team that makes the yearly predictions. Unfortunately it looks likely to be another busy hurricane season.

Jesse Markley Lee was sad not to be able to attend the zoom meeting!�� She had her three grandchildren, ages 6 years, 4 years and 1&1/2 years old!!!!
Needless to say she was quite busy all day!�� The older 2 are girls and the baby, a boy who������Ƶ�s into everything!!!�� Her older daughter has had Covid and had it twice.�� She is an RM in the ER at Lexington Hospital.�� Jesse������Ƶ�s younger daughter is too busy with 3 young children to��return to the classroom.
Jesse is in the process of finalizing a new house������Ƶ�.She says they are crazy to have done this…. and hope to move in the first part of June fully. We have moved some items into a “barn” on the property to keep from doing too much at one time.�� In June her new address will be 3425 Sawmill Drive, Sumter, SC 29150.�� She is praying we will have a gathering in��2022, and very excited to be able to see everyone!!

Candace Constable Craven writes that she was also sorry to miss our zoom meeting.��She Hoped it went well and everyone is healthy and safe.�� They have both been vaccinated and hugging our grandchildren was THE best!��They just returned from visiting their son and his family in Denver.�� They are remodeling the master bath and asked for some assistance – it was so much fun taking a hammer to that tile – we made a huge mess, but we managed to get it down to the studs!�� I could have done without the 14 hour drive, but our new dog was with us so we drove!�� We will have the kids for 2 weeks in July and we sure are hoping things are open a�� little more than last summer.�� Thank heavens our cabin is on a lake and everyone��enjoys swimming, kayaking, canoeing, fishing, etc.
Gayle Buckheister Sawyer and George attended graduation ceremonies at Coker this spring in the DeLoach Center on campus. ��As we look toward our 50th class reunion on April 1 – 2, 2022, be sure to take advantage of the campus tours to see the Center if you didn’t at our 45th reunion when it was brand new. ��The Sawyer and Buckheister families celebrated a BIG birthday for George via Zoom in May. ��What delightful chaos to have the siblings and cousins together from around the US. Although we have canceled plans to travel in 2021, we are planning adventures for 2022. ��We hope to see, in person, our family and some of you on our way.
Jane Brown Riechmann sent news of a busy summer. They will be enjoying Crescent Beach, FL for a week in June with younger son Tim, his wife Kate and two grandchildren, 4-year ������Ƶ�old Nora and 21 month old Shep, celebrating their 50th anniversary in Palm Beach in mid-July, attending Jane������Ƶ�s 55th Laurens High School reunion on August 21 and then off to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone with elder son Rob and his wife Tina the following week.�� Maybe September will bring some relaxation!

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Wow������Ƶ�What a year! COVID-19 has been a bummer for everyone. I hope that all of you have survived relatively unscathed. There have been so many Americans and people around the world that lost their lives, loved ones, jobs, homes, and more. I am thankful for our scientific community for developing the vaccines so quickly and hope that we will be able to get back to a new normal this summer. That means meeting up with family and friends, going to the lake, celebrating graduations, birthdays, traveling on vacations, going out to eat, attending ball games, and heading to Coker for Homecoming~can I get a high five and a Whoop Whoop!

I reached out to several classmates but didn������Ƶ�t get any news back this go round so, I will share with you some of my news. We added a new fur baby to our family in February. What a great Valentine������Ƶ�s gift to each other. Vicki and I are in love with this little fella named Teddy Bear. He is a Blue Roan and Tan colored Coker Spaniel and has been a great companion for our chocolate Poodle Truffles who lost his mojo when he lost his big sister Tooty Fruity last July. Losing Mom in December of 2019 and Tooty so close together has been really tough on us, but Teddy brightens our spirits and makes us laugh everyday with his goofy, puppy schananagans. I will be posting lots of photos on FB because he������Ƶ�s soooo adorable! I also became a great Aunt������Ƶ�not that I wasn������Ƶ�t one already ;). My first born niece had a son this Spring and named him Brayden Reece. Our twin niece and nephew will be graduating HS this summer������Ƶ�we������Ƶ�re all getting younger������Ƶ�hehe. We are so proud of our youngest niece, Jessica for her hard work, drive, and dedication to academics and athletics. It has paid off royally because she will be attending the University of North Carolina in the Fall. I guess this means we are Gamecock and also Tar Heel fans������Ƶ�road trips to Chapel Hill coming up������Ƶ�

I would love to hear from everyone from the Class of ������Ƶ�86. Come on and reach out to me old friends so I can write your stories in the Commentary.

You can reach me by email
You can reach me by my cell
I don������Ƶ�t care how you reach me
Just get me if you can������Ƶ�

Peace, Love, and Happiness~ ������Ƶ�Trigger������Ƶ�

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Gaby Morandiere, Class Rep

������Ƶ Commentary Class of 1962 News for Spring and Autumn 2O20

Dear Coker Classmates of 1962,��

As usual the news of our classmates are listed alphabetically by the last names we had while students. It’s amazing to think that most of us are 80 years old! 2020 Has been a really unusual year for us all! Unfortunately I have had a difficult time organizing my thoughts and never got around to sending the news for our last Commentary. My computer had so many problems for months and I somehow lost some of your emails, for which I apologize.��

Hopefully you have heard Dr. Natalie Harder has been named ������Ƶ’s 17th President. Dr. Harder, previously Chancellor of South Louisiana Community College (SLCC), will began her term as president of ������Ƶ in June 2020. “Dr. Harder is uniquely positioned to lead the university at this significant moment in our history. “Dr. Harder comes to Coker after a transformational eight years at SLCC, where she increased student graduation rates by 400 % over five years, increased enrollment from 6,100 students to over 18,000, and secured a $12.6M grant the largest grant ever awarded to the college. ��

Mary BeIl Kittle and Joe were happy to be able to head for their house in Orkney Springs, VA where they spend most of the summers and falls. This year they decided to find states that were allowing visitors from other places. They made it to 0klahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin and lowa. Then Orkney Springs bound by way of lllinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia. Accommodations were very clean and very carefully observing protocols. There was plenty of space and fewer people in many of the states we visited and we felt entirely comfortable about making this trip.��

Sherrie Berry Wolski’s brother, Jack Ivy Berry died on March 12^th. Sherrie and Pat are always working hard on their house and yard. Most recently they have been installing new Formica kitchen counter tops. And there have been a lot of windy storms in Florida so a lot of tree branches came down. Sherrie loves to pick those up and haul them properly for the garbage men to pick up. She is so strong!��

Peggy Brown Buchanan’s husband, The Right Reverend John Clark Buchanan, died at home on April 15th after a long illness. John had served in the U.S. Air Force and attended the University of South Carolina, where he earned a B.A. degree followed by a JD degree. After practicing law for awhile, he decided to study at the General Theological Seminary in New York City and became ordained in the Episcopal Diocese of SC. He became a Bishop in the Diocese of Kansas City, MO in 1989 and served in many more cities and states. Peggy and John travelled so often and just recently Peggy accepted an invitation to visit good friends at Hilton Head and she went to Savannah to visit a daughter and her husband. And finally, she and her Mt. Pleasant daughter and granddaughter had a wonderful girl’s trip to Fripp Island.��

Doris Duke Straight has been staying close to home to avoid being exposed to COVID-19. Her youngest daughter lives with her and sanitizes everything that comes into the house: mail, groceries, etc. She has also been busy with some backyard projects and I have been helping. It keeps me from being bored while confined.��

Carol Elting Richardson and former Coker roommate Charlotte Cothran Hough are still good friends and live about an hour and a half away from each other by car. They decided that Carol had a chair that needed to be upholstered. They found a nice fabric to use and Charlotte was able to work on upholstering it. Carol’s Son, Brad, has been running errands and buying groceries for Carol since the virus interfered with life. Brad has been working hard to make repairs needed for her aging house.��

Molly Holbrooke Thomas Birchler shares exciting news. She has a new friend and housemate. Her adopted Braeburn/Earl Grey, a Domestic Short Hair & Russian Blue Mix cat from an adoption agency in Greensboro. He is LARGE about 14lbs. She cannot lift him and he does not fit in Molly’s lap well but she has renamed him Sebastian because he is such a handsome boy. He loves the screened porch and seems to enjoy having so much space to pitter-pat about. They are becoming good friends. She was able to take a wonderful trip to Africa last Nov. A trip she will never forget. Plans to take another adventurous trip to Jordan, Egypt, and Petra in August of 2021. “Of course, that is if I live that long and the virus is behind us.” In February Molly wrote that everyone was enjoying such nice winter weather in the Carolinas. She was taking four classes at the Community College. There are fabulous continuing education courses for retirees or even younger. She took a class titled 2020 Presidential candidates. The instructor is a retired major in Special Forces and still involved in our government and military. Brilliant speaker and Molly enjoys his classes. The next class was to be about China, Russia and the US, with the same instructor.��

Karen Mansfield wrote in April that Omaha had around 900 cases of the virus which is relatively low. We are all shut in as I’m sure you are too. Hard to believe this is happening.��

Lee McCown Huey went to New Orleans in January to see Clemson play for the national championship. It was a wonderful time with her daughter, brother and sister in law. Last summer (2019) Lee and her sister spent a week in Chautauqua, NY. They stayed in a Victorian hotel in a pedestrian, lakeside village and attended many lectures and concerts. It was memorable. Like everyone else, I am staying home now. The spring has been so beautiful it hasn’t been a hardship. I hope all my dear classmates are well and passing the time without stress.��

Peggy McCue Freymuth’s granddaughter’s college has closed for the year and she has already gone to get her belongings. They were assigned a day and time-two hours to pack and clear out. Grandson Tanner participated in the all-district and all-state chorus so he spent three days at Winthrop just before the travel bans started. He was able to play church league basketball this year as practices were held on Sunday afternoons, therefore, no conflict with play practice at school. He scored his lone points for the season in the final game. Daughter Anne is still working and has been termed “essential personnel” by the practice as she is in charge of clerical personnel.��

Gail Arnette Sinclair and her husband seem well and she and Peggy keep in touch from time to time. Flo Staklinski Taylor said it well: “The two of us are flattening the curve at home! Walking, reading, cooking and using the dishwasher more than ever.” Fortunately their church has been sharing services online. They miss tennis and socializing but are trying to stay smart!”��

Joanne Tuten Bellamy sounds wonderfully strong and cheerful. She has just returned home after she had aorta blockage problems and surgery. Her son, Matt, has been very helpful, driving her back and forth to Charleston from Pawleys Island for doctor and hospital visits. He has been running errands for groceries and dog food. Joanne has a very large yard with vegetables, flowers and trees now loaded with oranges.��

Bruce Williams and Mary Frances are celebrating their 57th year of marriage at Thanksgiving. They are so pleased that they decided to return to South Carolina to retire in Conway. (Bruce went into the Navy after graduating from Coker and served for 23 years.) Veterans Day always means a lot to Bruce.��

Fred Williams’ wife, Carolyn, was good enough to let us know that things were quiet in SC last spring and fortunately no family members have been affected by the virus.��

Peggy Zeigler Reeves and Danny enjoyed a spring and summer safely at home while working on all sorts of jigsaw puzzles. After having had some medical problems, Donnie returned home from the hospital. A few really good friends were able to drop by to visit and sometimes take Donnie for rides in the country.��

I heard Frances Segars Kelly’s husband, Henry, died at home on July 31st after feeling very tired for a few weeks. She of course tried to do everything she could to make him more comfortable. What a wonderful couple they were – generous and helpful to so many relatives, friends and organizations. There was a private, close family-only funeral on August 3rd.��

Gaby Morandiere’s New York City will not be the same for a very long time. Since mid-March restaurants, parks, shops, museums and theaters have been closed and everyone has to wear masks. Groceries were very hard to buy at first but I have been able to order some from an online store called Fresh Direct and eventually from Amazon-owned Whole Foods. The streets and sidewalks are hauntingly empty. So many have been moving to states and cities with more freedoms, especially those with children. Private schools seem to be opening carefully, but the teachers’ unions are making it impossible to successfully open the public schools. I am so grateful to have a small balcony overlooking a little park (owned and maintained by our Co-op). At night I can usually see some stars and the moon. In the daytime I can look down from the 7th floor to see birds, (this year, lots of bees have enjoyed my pots of basil, trees, some flowers and anyone walking by or sitting in the park. Although children are not allowed to run and play in the park they often do so with squeals of delight, which is a blessing. Please know that I think of you and am so grateful to hear from you when you have time. Certainly Thanksgiving Christmas and New Year’s can not be what we have enjoyed in years past but I wish you good health and so many blessings and peace.��

Affectionately, Gaby Morandiere 212.832.7462��

Gaby.morandiere@verizon.

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What a crazy year 2020 has been. I hope this finds you healthy and safe from COVID-19. I am confident that we will all come together to significantly reduce the number of infections and disastrous outcomes in the New Year. We are strong Americans that get behind each other when times are tough. I am hopeful that we will be in a position to resume games for winter sports and huddle up together at center court in ������Ƶ�The Snake Pit.������Ƶ� We do have some news from three special Coker friends and here is what they have to say.

Deb Brennan-Bowers~
Check out what Deb������Ƶ�s been up to������Ƶ�I lived in Atlanta 32 years working in Real Estate with new home builders. I just moved back to my home town of Charleston SC in February. I have one son who is a sophomore at UGA majoring in Business. I have a new business in Kitchen and Bath Design. We do full renovation projects. I������Ƶ�m also a licensed realtor now enjoying working in the beautiful low country. It������Ƶ�s great to be back home. John and Julie Santos are here Kristin Latorre Malony and Barbie McKinnon. So love having some old friends to hang with like old times. Covid has slowed down my getting out to visit as much but I������Ƶ�m so happy things seem to be improving across the nation! So love seeing the updates on Facebook about Coker.

Dr. Karlus Artis~
Hey Trigger! Good to hear from you. I don������Ƶ�t know where to begin. After I graduated from Coker College with a degree in Chemistry I went to Medical School at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. I got married my last year in Medical School in 1989. I graduated medical school in 1990 with a degree, Doctor of Medicine. I then started my residency at Duke University in Family Medicine. I received my license and started medical practice in Goldsboro North Carolina. My wife and I had two boys; Kyle and Karlon. I practiced medicine in Goldsboro for several years then I moved to Rocky Mount, North Carolina where I live now. I remarried in 2012 and practiced as an Emergency Room physician and Hospitalist for ten years. I know practice medicine in Roanoke Rapids and Goldsboro North Carolina. I have been practicing medicine now for 29 years with plans too slowly retire soon.

Begonia Fabregus~
I had to do some detective work to find Begoniaaaaaa in Spain and was thrilled to hear back from her. I reminded her of a funny story from back when we were at Coker in 1986. One hot afternoon she came up to me and said������Ƶ�Trigger, will you take me to the Sonic to get a Slime Lush (Lime Slush)������Ƶ� I call it Slime Lush to this day, and so does my family. How adorable! I love that story of my Spanish friend who came to America to play tennis and was learning to speak English.

So������Ƶ�enjoy her story.
Hey Hey Trigger!!!��How incredible it is to hear from you after so many years!!! I am a little bit in shock, but very glad to hear from you!!��As you have seen I am not in FB or any other social network, sorry…���� and let me tell you that I had to read the message twice because I had to understand what��furry children meant!!! So you can see that after many years I am still learning English,��it has been so sweet to read about the Slime Lush��

Sorry to hear that it has been a rough year, I am sorry for the loss of your mother.

Well, let me summarize my last 35 years as good as you have done in a few lines… I am doing fine, still working as you have seen involved in tennis but very eager to retire, how lucky you are!

I worked in so many places…all very different����with photographers, on tv, in hotels, at a US pharmaceutical company, and many others, not in that order, but buff! it has been ok, not to launch fireworks but good. I have travelled a lot, but not as much��as I would have liked. I hope to travel again after the COVID disappears.�� I am single and living with my parents, they are very well, but 89 and 85 so they need my help. I have moved from the city of Barcelona to a small town at the beach, so I am very excited to live just by the sea. It is not like Myrtle beach, but it is a beach. My sister lives here too so we manage together.

I would love to go back to the US. I went only twice in all those years and the last time was in 1997!!!!

Let me think about anything curious to tell regarding these years so you can write in the Commentary. If not you can also tell that you have been a great detective and that you should have tried to be a professional��one because you found me��

It has been so nice to hear from you, really, how great after all these years.

We will be in contact, I will look for a nice picture of me to send you next time I write and you will see if you recognize me

Coker friends������Ƶ�want to hear your stories so please don������Ƶ�t hesitate to get in touch with me. Looking forward to sharing more life adventures about you. Write to me soon!

You can reach me by email
You can reach me by my cell
I don������Ƶ�t care how you reach me
Just get me if you can������Ƶ�

Here������Ƶ�s to Peace, Love, Health, and Happiness
Trigger

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