I live in Columbia with husband CP and work parttime at the Dept of Juvenile Justice. Have been an RN there for 21 years and continue to love my job. Daughter, Brooks, lives in Asheville with husband Chris and children Mia and Gray. She is an early childhood therapist. Son, Palmer, lives in Greenville and is a dentist in Laurens, and son, Andrew, is a senior at USC here in Columbia. Our family loves spending time at Litchfield Beach, and we also spend many joyful hours with my mother who is 95 and continues to live at the home place in Mountville.
ning our next get together already and we really want to see you there! You can find me back in my home town Salisbury, NC! Harriett Courtney Lemke – I came back to Hartsville in 1982, met and married a Chicago native, Dr. Jim Lemke a Coker professor in 1984. I am a retired chef, cookbook author, a SC Master Gardener, a walker and a runner. Coker is a great school for a great education. Come often and celebrate our fabulous and fun years at Coker. Janice “Willie” Cochran Wilkins – Awesome to see everybody! One more year (probably) until retirement! Yeah!!! Missed everyone that wasn’t here!!!! Betty Birdsong Matthews ( Birdthang or Bird….) – Alumni Day was so much fun!!!! Lots of laughing, remembering and talking. We all look so young! I hope to retire from teaching in February ’13. Can’t wait to begin that next phase of my life. David and I plan to do some traveling and just enjoy life!!! Janie Cleckley Campbell – It was so amazing to just pick up where we left off “ a few” years ago! Lots of giggles and shared memories. CA said it was a hoot to watch each other and see that many of us have the same mannerisms and expressions from our college years. You will be hearing from the college as we will be rolling out a campaign this summer for our new gym/wellness center on the site where the Byerly hospital stood. We are hoping that you will take pride in helping build our athletic facility. When Julia Anne “Judy” Southard visited the campus she was shocked that we are still using our old gym. It will mean a lot as we recruit athletes for the future of the college. Another project our class is starting is a fund to update and insure the future of the Coker Bell tower. Some of our classmates designated their gift for that. We want you to plan to visit with us as we plan our off year trips and our “official” visits every 5 years. We want see you!!! What would get you back for a visit??????? Rev. C. Kay Seaborn Fuino – I walked all around the campus on Friday and it is so beautiful. Then dinner with six of you at the Midnight Rooster. Too much fun remembering good times but also sharing about those we missed. Laughing about the things we did that were so silly and truly wishing our entire class was there to celebrate. Today we added a few more and shared more stories. When I sang our alma mater it was okay until the last verse. Tears choked me up then as I thought about all of us going our separate ways. I like it better when we are together. Blessings and love to all of you. Thanks so much for asking me to present the “check” to the College.
Alumni News from the Class of ’72
1973
Jean Southard Riddle wants to know where were Kelly, Andy and Hart? And to all our classmates, we are getting a new gym/ wellness center. More to come. Sarah McCanless Haarlow – I am living in Hartsville again, so any time you want to come to Coker I have plenty of beds and I’d love to have you. Retired finally!!! Husband, Bob, is Headmaster at Thomas Hart Academy here. Son, Mel, and his wife and two grands are here- in fact Mel is Mayor of Hartsville. Daughter Elizabeth in in Columbia, married to Robert Williams. Step sons Jeff (Casey) in Rome, GA- he’s a basketball coach; Chris (Lauren) Greensboro, NC- he’s a golf instructor. Nancy Thomas Oliver ’71 & Joye Segars Davis. I finished in ’71 too but I came, so can you!!! Reed McSwain Jackson and Cathy McSwain…Jane Woodberry Fordham, Helen Amann Chiha where are you???? Elizabeth “Fish” Young Fisher – What a fabulous time it has been to be on “campus” again and reconnecting with my “always” young and fun Coker buddies!!! Coker is as I have always remembered it…so lovely! We plan-
1002 Starcliff Drive Lugoff, SC 29078 803-438-5638 | jane@ctp-cpa.com
visiting bi-monthly with her dad, who, while 90, manages to get around quite well. And sadly, Sarah’s mother died. Christina Glover Wallerstein crosses the country monthly from Pasadena to Lynchburg, Va., to visit her mother, Philipa Glover, who, in spite of poor health, has lost none of her spunk. Request me on Facebook as a friend, and you will be able to keep up with several more of us, including Bonnie Rivers Drumwright, Kathy Hardin, Kathryn Latimer Welch, Margaret “Barry” Murphy Sadler and Wendy Lamm Leonard. Bonnie’s grandchildren are just as blond as she was during our days at Coker. Kathy and Kathryn think Bonnie’s grandkids are cute (and I agree). Wendy’s family has had a wedding. Theatrics are still part of Barrie’s life. Our daughter, Mary B., is slated to begin in September an 11-month mission trip with The World Race, working in 11 different countries. Afterwards, she plans to move to Nashville to try her hand at earning a living composing music. I’d love to hear from you! Sarah Jo Wood Safrit
1972 First Row (left to right): Jean Southard Riddle, Carol Ann Hackney Bingham, Harriett Courtney Lemke, Sarah McCanless Haarlow; Second Row (left to right): Bet Birdsong Matthews, Janice C. “Willie” Wilkins, Elizabeth “Fish” Fisher; Third Row (left to right): Sarah Mims, C. Kay Seaborn Fuino, Sister Wham Thomas, Janie Cleckley Campbell in the same house where Susan grew up. Bentham Reed, Mary Edmunds Reed’s son, is in Afghanistan on his second tour. He’s with the Corps of Engineers there. We pray for his safe return. Mark and I (Jane Brown Riechmann) enjoyed another trip to Oahu in January, flying there military Space Available. We’ve decided to make this an annual winter get-away trip and have already made plans for our next trip there in mid-January 2013 with friends who will be making their first Space A trip. I could not end this news without a BIG thank you to Linda Smith Bradford who has served six years on the Board of Trustees. She has represented Coker well and it’s an honor to have someone so capable from the Class of ’70 serve. Thanks, Linda, from all of us, for giving Coker so much of your time and talent! Hope to hear from more of you next time! I’ll try to give you more time to get your news in. Anyone interested in being the class rep or a co-rep with me, please let me know. And, don’t forget ‘THE PLAN’! Jane Brown Riechmann
1971
Sarah Jo Wood Safrit
Post Office Box 388 Beaufort, NC 28516 252-728-3213 | leonards@mail.clis.com
WWW. COKER . E D U
205 Water View Drive Columbia, SC 29212 803-781-3294 home | 803-240-2896 cell thombpa@bellsouth.net Class co-rep needed Classmates who were unable to attend our reunion, you really missed a fun time!! We were able to renew old friendships and enjoy the beautiful campus!! What a Great Time we Had!! Sister Wham Thomas
Jane Clyburn
Dear Classmates; I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. I know I’m looking forward to it (at the time of this writing, it’s not quite here yet) Sorry I didn’t sent out an email for news for Commentary but I left my prior job and was not able to get the list of my contacts with everyone’s email. So, please email me at the address above & below so I can add you to my contacts and keep up with everyone. Not sure when the last “letter” was written but I have a new grandchild, a girl. Teagan was born October 30, 2011. She joins a sister, Logan-4, and a brother, Ryan-6. As I stated earlier, I am no longer working with the CPA firm. I am now the Accounting Specialist for a home care company in Columbia. The biggest part of my job is
T HE OFFICI A L M AG A ZINE OF COKER COL L EG E, H A RT S V IL L E, S .C .
COMMEN TA RY
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DEVELOPMENT
Priscilla Perry Arnold shared news from several of our classmates thanks to her annual “Coker Girls Get-Together.” This year she met in Atlanta with her buddies, Linda Rhyne, Trisha Braid Collins, Elizabeth Cockfield Bushardt and Sarah Sheppard Mims, for a weekend of theater, museum, shopping, eating, photos and lots of laughter. Trisha’s son, Jason, was ordained as an Episcopal priest. Linda’s daughter, Stewart, has married. Liz’s two granddaughters are growing way too fast for her. Pricilla is keeping busy with her practice in Missouri and
Mary “Sister” Wham Thomas