I grew up in a very modest home in West Columbia and attended Saluda River Elementary School (now known as Saluda River Academy for the Arts), Northside Middle School, Brookland-Cayce High School, and the University of South Carolina where I graduated with a pharmacy degree in 1981. I have fond memories of all of those learning institutions, and I still keep in touch with friends from those early days.
My mother grew up poor on a farm in Saluda, S.C. without electricity or indoor plumbing for part of her life. Yet, she made her way to the University of South Carolina and ended up with a long career working for the Internal Revenue Service in Columbia.
My father grew up in Batesburg, S.C., attended Clemson University and was a World War II veteran. He worked in Georgetown some summers at Kraft Mill. When I was young, he worked at Fort Jackson in Columbia.
In high school, I worked at a Howard Johnsons restaurant and hotel that are no longer there. In college, I worked at a Thunderbird Motor Inn that is no longer there. My first job as a pharmacist was at Self Memorial Hospital in Greenwood. Then, I went back to school at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston to get my Doctor of Pharmacy degree. I lived in Mount Pleasant for those 2 years.
I moved out of state for the first time after finishing up my degree in Charleston because it was a good career move. I worked at Shands Hospital in Gainesville, FL for about 7 years, but I visited family and friends in Columbia and Charleston whenever I could. It was always good coming home. I left Gainesville for a job in Charlotte, NC, so that move brought me back closer to home. Then marriage took me to Georgia (Athens and Monroe) for about 27 years. But it was always good coming back to visit and go to Carolina games when I could. My wife, Allyson, has had a long career in nursing. Our son, Alex, is a talented musician and plans on making a career out of that.
Now that I am retiring after a 40+ year career as a pharmacist, my wife and I have decided to move to Pawleys Island and enjoy the low country lifestyle during our retirement years. So, it’s sort of like a homecoming for me, and I am fortunate that my wife and son both love South Carolina, too.
