Just Among Friends
The University of Mississippi released the Chancellor's Honor Roll for the fall semester. Among those students on the list were Chandler Everett Tolbert and Burgin McClellan of Philadelphia.
"The Chancellor's Honor Roll students deserve a great deal of recognition in their pursuit of academic excellence and incredible achievements," said Chancellor Glenn Boyce. 'These students represent some of the best and brightest at the University of Mississippi."
In order to be eligible for honor roll designation, a student must have completed at least 12 graded hours for the semester and maintain a G{A of 3.75-4.0. Chandler is a freshman and Burgin is a junior at Ole Miss. Congratulations!
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A big Happy Birthday to Jimmy Prince who celebrated his 90th birthday on December 18. He is the patriarch of the Philadelphia Prince family whose members have long been contributors to the community in so many ways.
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Peter Clayton Luke arrived just in time to spend his first Christmas with his parents, Benjamin and Jordan Stivers Luke in Nashville, Tennessee. This beautiful baby boy arrived on December 22, weighing 7 pounds and 13 ounces of joy.
His grandmother, Lynda Luke, is a former resident of Philadelphia. His grandfather is the late Bobby Luke also of Philadelphia. Congratulations to this sweet little family.
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John Burt, Sr. celebrated his 95th birthday on December 22. For many years his extended Burt family has gathered together in "Papa John's," as he is affectionately known, home on Sundays for dinner and family time with visiting, games of many kinds, and just spending time as a family. The Covid Pandemic has stopped the Sunday gatherings lately, but they still manage to keep in close contact with him and each other. Outdoor visits with six feet of distance between visitors has also been a great way to maintain closeness. He is such a kind and loving person who is adored by his family. Happy Birthday!
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There was an outdoor celebration at the Tom and Shirley Cox home on December 19. The occasion was honoring Macy Martin and Tanner Rhodes who had just become engaged earlier that evening.
Tanner and Macy went to dinner with his family at the Porter House to commemorate his mother, Celeste Rhodes, being cancer-free for one year. It was a thankful event. Afterwards, Tanner and Macy went to his truck where he presented her with a bouquet of flowers and got down on one knee and proposed. She was totally surprised! Of course, she said yes!
The couple proceeded to her grandparents' home where another surprise awaited both of them. It was a gathering of parents, a few family members and friends who were on the back porch which had been decorated with white and gold balloons suspended from the ceiling and a sign reading, "The Future Mr. and Mrs. Rhodes" which served as a great background for pictures of the happy event. Social distancing was practiced as everyone tried to keep warm from the heat of an outdoor heater as well as wearing warm jackets.
Macy and Tanner plan to be married on June 5th, 2021. She is the daughter of Ike and Carla Cox Martin. Her grandparents are Tom and Shirley Cox of Philadelphia
Tanner is the son of Derrick and Celeste Rhodes of Philadelphia. His maternal grandparents are Felton and Lucille Myatt of Philadelphia and paternal grandparents are Marvin and Barbara Rhodes of North Carolina. Macy and Tanner were high school sweethearts.
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Although the Pandemic restricted large gatherings for Christmas, Bob and Lynn Benson solved the problem of seeing their children and grandchildren by traveling to see them instead.
They started out by visiting their daughter, Sarah Benson Satterfield, in Atlanta where she resides with their granddaughter, Sofia. Bob was pleasantly surprised by his Christmas gift from Sofia. She sang his favorite song, "The River," for him. Sofia gave a beautiful performance for her grandfather.
The couple went on to visit their Auburn, Alabama grandchildren and their son Nathan and his wife. The Alabama crew consists of Noah, Phoebe, Irene and Rowan. It was another fun Christmas celebration.
Their last Christmas event was in Philadelphia with their two grandsons, Jakob and Sam Knight. Sam was delighted with his new rifle and scope which he will use to go hunting. They are the sons of Erin Benson Knight and Barry Knight.
Bob and Lynn made sure they spent quality time with all of their grands. What fun!
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On the evening of December 20th, a big blue truck pulled into our driveway bringing our most precious Christmas gifts — our daughter, Candler Enochs Foster, our son-in-law, Bert Foster, and our granddog, Abbie, from Dallas.
It had been one year since we had seen them, so we were absolutely thrilled! It had been a long lonely year. Thanksgiving plans had to be canceled due to Abbie's having an emergency splenectomy during the early morning of the day they were to leave for Mississippi. Of course, it was not possible to drive for nine hours with a dog recuperating from surgery.
She and Boo got reacquainted and decided they liked each other. We all had a wonderful time together, although we did not go anywhere at all, but stayed inside with the fireplace burning constantly and lots of food. Bert played golf one day on the Oaks course at Dancing Rabbit which he loves to do whenever he visits.
Candler spent several hours grooming Abbie who looked like one of the Navajo sheep from New Mexico before they are shorn. I had no idea she could clip Abbie as well as she did. A new dog emerged from beneath her thick, shaggy coat of hair!
Time always passes too quickly when we are with them. They left on Christmas day for Natchez where they spent a couple of days with Bert's family. I hope to see them before next Christmas comes. My brother stayed in Albuquerque this year to avoid flying and everyone missed him so much. I will look forward to seeing him before next Christmas here in Philadelphia. He has never seen how beautiful spring is in the South.
Prayers for all of us that 2021 will be a better year filled with hope and love and laughter. May you have a joyous and blessed New Year.
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