Anne Kirkpatrick Dies

With great sadness we learned that Anne Kirkpatrick Smarr died this week.

COLUMBIA – Service for Anne Kirkpatrick Smarr, 73, will be held Saturday at 2 p.m. at Forest Lake Presbyterian Church. The family will receive friends in the church parlor following the service. Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel, is assisting the family.
Mrs. Smarr, wife of the late Col. Albert Ward Smarr, Jr., U.S. Army, died Tuesday, December 30, 2008. Born in Rock Hill, she was the daughter of the late John Craig Kirkpatrick, Jr. and Mary Frances Neeley Kirkpatrick. She was an avid Bridge player and a former member of Fort Jackson Officers’ Wives Club.
Surviving are sons and daughters-in-law, Art and Ruth Ann Smarr, Lt. Col. Rick Smarr, all of Columbia, John and Kelly Smarr of Wadmalaw Island; daughters and son-in-law, Linda Smarr of Gulf Breeze, Fla., and Joan and Larry Spivey of Columbia; grandchildren, John, Matt and Preston Smarr, Elizabeth and Ed Storch, Andy, Will and Caroline Smarr, Kaelin and Hunter Spivey and Michael Albert Smarr; and brother and sister-in-law, Jack and Barbara Kirkpatrick of Huntsville, Ala.
Memorials may be made to Palmetto Place Children’s Emergency Shelter, P.O. Box 3395, Columbia, SC 29230 or Forest Lake Presbyterian Church, 6500 North Trenholm Road, Columbia, SC 29206.

A Personal Note

Yvonne Grant Tucker passed away unexpectedly this week. She wasn’t a member of our class,she was two years behind us, but you may remember her. She was a very pretty and talented girl whom I got to know briefly because she played violin in the CHS orchestra sitting right behind me.

Being as musically talented as she was didn’t surprise anyone who was aware that she was the daughter of one of my “Briarhopper” heros, “Whitey,” of “Whitey and Hogan,” the well known Blue Grass duo who were a famous country music team even before the name “bluegrass” had been coined.

I hadn’t seen Yvonne since I left Charlotte until one day about 5 years ago while visiting my mother, who at the time was living at Wilora Lakes. While there one day I spotted “Whitey” who was also a resident, and introduced myself. He, in turn “re-introduced” me to his daughter Yvonne who was visiting him at the time.

We talked and laughed about the old days at CHS and got as up-dated on our current lives as is possible in a short, chance meeting.

Afterwards, whenever Yvonne came to visit her Dad and Mom, which was often, she would visit my Mom. But NOT just visit. Yvonne insisted on taking her places and doing little chores that my Mom could no longer do. My mother often said that Yvonne had become like a daughter to her.

My sister Kathryn and I are extremely grateful for Yvonne’s loving attention to our Mother!

To read Yvonne’s obituary CLICK HERE

Crash Landing

Spectacular, wasn’t it!

The pilot calmly bringing the powerless plane in for a textbook landing with NO injuries to the anyone! But, at least, there was the Hudson river to somewhat soften the impact.

Wait a minute! The crash I’m talking about was nowhere near the Hudson river. Instead this pilot had only the hard cement of Douglas Municipal airport’s runway to “soften” the impact.

But the result was the same; the hero pilot brought the big bird down safely, with minimum damage and NO injuries.

The incident I’m talking about happened about 25 years ago. And the “cool and calm” expert pilot
was our own Obie Oakley!

It was in all the papers. In case you missed it, here it is again:

(Ed note….Click on article to enlarge!)

First LDL Event of the Year

Jimmie’s was Jumping again Tuesday as an ever expanding group of Wildcats descended upon the Toots Shor’s of Mint Hill.

This website’s master photographer, Jerry Gaudet was on the scene and recorded the event for this site’s many viewers.

Editor’s note: I was very glad to see that Shirley McClanahan Maynor was in attendance. She looks good as new!

Jerry Gaudet Reports:

“28 of us gathered to “gab” and enjoy one another. Come join us when you can. CHS’54 “LDL” (Let’s Do Lunch) is the second Tuesday of every month at “Jimmies Restaurant” in Mint Hill.

Those attending were:

FirstName	LastName	MarriedName	Spouse
Gayle	Barrier	Austin
Vic	Brawley		and Sylvia
Harold	Cullingford
Jerry	Gaudet
Jo	Goines, Mary Ellen’s delightful sister, CHS’43
Mary Ellen	Goines	Causby
Jackie	Hart	Lookabill
Martin	Hill		and Pat
Carolyn	Keziah	Hudspeth
Marie	Lackey	Correll
Thomas	Lindsay
Shirley	McClanahan	Maynor
Mitzi	Minor	Roper
Obie	Oakley
Paul	Patton
Mary	Psomadakis	Renfroe
Ronnie	Rallis	Pourlos	and Jimmie
June	Reid	Helsabeck
Willis	Rimmer
Bob	Seagraves		and Gloria
Al	Selby
Anna Lynn	Smith-Peterson	Kearse
Betty	Templeton	Palomba
Charlie	Willis