Life The Gift of
COUPLE’S DONATION TO ST. JUDE INSPIRES OTHERS TO DO THE SAME BY JESSICA FARTHING PHOTO BY LLOYD WAINSCOTT
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t St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, everyone sits together in the cafeteria for lunch: doctors, parents and patients. It’s an opportunity for those affected by childhood cancer to comfort and interact with others dealing with the same things. This special facility is on the frontlines in the battle against the disease, and it’s the inspiration for Hilton Head Island residents Claire and Tony Karnas. The Karnas family has lived all over the country thanks to Tony’s career as an officer in the U.S. Navy, while Claire worked as a teacher. Eventually, they landed in Arlington, Virginia, for his last assignment and eventual retirement. The family considered the city home, and settled there while their two daughters
completed high school and college. Claire and Tony bought a piece of retirement property to be close to one of their children in the Williamsburg area, but her work as a molecular biologist led their daughter to relocate to Pennsylvania. The couple was left with a valuable lot in a golf community right on one of the holes, but they postponed building and moved further south, closer to their other daughter. A trip to Beaufort stayed on the couple’s mind. They rented a marshfront house and were impressed with the peace and tranquility. Hilton Head was a compromise of sorts. It offered plenty of golf, restaurants and entertainment, while its easy access to travel kept them involved with their seven grandchildren. The Karnases found a marshfront home