Gigi & Chip Cox: Life at The Lakes by Sarah Elaine Hawkinson
Gigi and Chip met on the board of Habitat for Humanity in Lancaster County. Gigi, a retired music teacher from Lancaster, was the secretary, and Chip, an Air Force veteran from Florence, was the treasurer. They came as a delightful surprise to one another as both were widowed and did not think they would find that type of love again. After a year of friendship and discovering that they were both single, Gigi asked Chip to dance at the organization’s gala. Gigi smiled and said, “I had no idea where it would lead, but it’s turned out quite well.” Chip nodded, took Gigi’s hand, and replied, “And it was the best thing that could have happened to me. I feel so blessed.” The two love birds have been together for ten years, married for seven years, and members of The Lakes at Litchfield for a little over three years. When it came time for them to find a continued care community, they visited several in
South Carolina, but were not fond of any of those types of “facilities.” Both Gigi and Chip grew up vacationing on the Carolina coast and said that when they came to visit The Lakes at Litchfield, the decision to join the community was a “no brainer.” They live in a beautiful, spacious house and feel completely independent. Their favorite thing about living in the community is the deep and valued friendships they have made. One of their friends told them they moved into the community because they knew that if they were absent from dinner, someone would miss them, and Chip confirmed that it really is like that. He said, “We all look out for each other. We all feel like we are in the same boat and that’s something that really makes it worthwhile to get up every morning.” Gigi and Chip are busy bees and very active. Gigi laughed, “Oh, if Chip learns of an activity that The Lakes is offering, he thinks, oh yeah, we are signing up for that.” They both