Our Hours Upon The Stage
Volume lV: The Denman and Hankins Family 1995-2005
Denman Family Reunion.
Double click photo for large image.
The
wedding date for Amy Beth and Guy Davis Griffith was set for October 5, 1996,
at the First Presbyterian Church in Libertyville, Illinois. On October 3 my
sister, Kay Waggoner, drove me to Chicago. We spent the night along the way,
and arrived at the hotel before noon of the following day. That afternoon we
sat in the lobby and awaited the arrival of other members of the family. Susan
and Ed arrived from Dallas; then Charles, Amy Lynn, and Thomas came from
Memphis. Ed had arranged to have a limousine at the airport to pick Jennifer
and Andrew up and bring them to the hotel. Ed did this as a surprise for
Andrew, whose ninth birthday had been two days before, on October 2. It was
his first ride in a limo. Before Jennifer arrived, Amy's best friends, Julie
Fannon, Sandy Friedman, and Lisa Jordan arrived from Tennessee. A few of Amy's
friends from Charlotte and Atlanta also checked into the hotel. Guy's sister
and cousin were there, as well as several of his good friends. One of the
ministers, Rod Stone, who would help with the ceremony on the next day, was
from Atlanta. He, his wife, and baby checked into the hotel, too. Guy’s best
man, the Reverend Bill Carter, and two of his childhood friends from
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, were also among the friends who stayed at the hotel.
Amy and Guy had an informal rehearsal
dinner that evening at a large Italian restaurant, especially for the
out-of-town guests. At the dinner Kay and I sat with some of the family and
some of Guy's friends. There were a good number of us, and we enjoyed eating
and talking until late in the evening. We also celebrated Andrew’s ninth
birthday that night.
The next morning some of us went out
shopping and looking around that area of northwestern Chicago until it was
time to get back to the hotel and dress for the wedding. It was a beautiful
autumn day. For October 5 the temperature was very pleasant, and not as cool
as I had thought it would be. We got to the church well ahead of time. There
we met Guy's sister, Gwen, and his cousin Cleo, a nice lady from Santa Fe, New
Mexico.
The beautiful service began with a
musical program by the handbell choir and a trumpet soloist. The large church
choir, directed by Paul McKenzie, a good friend of Guy's, sang during the
wedding service. Guy was one of the associate pastors of the church, so it was
open to all members, friends, and family. There were a large number of people
at the wedding service.
Guy's good friend, artist Paula
Palmer, with some assistance from a few friends, had made a wedding banner to
be used in the service, symbolizing the scripture in Ecclesiastes 4:12: "A
threefold cord is not quickly broken." The banner was brought in first in the
procession of the choir members and those participating in the service. Susan
Giraldo, Amy's only attendant, walked down the aisle with the best man, the
Reverend Bill Carter. Thomas was the ring bearer and walked down the aisle
before Amy and Guy, who came down the aisle together, during the opening hymn.
The scripture was read by Scott
MacLellan, a good friend and member of the church. Standing at the front of
the church, the Reverend Rod Stone and the Reverend Melanie Hammond Clark
conducted the wedding. Rod read a pledge and gave the meditation. Melanie,
another of the associate pastors at Guy's church, instituted their vows. The
wedding party's recessional was during the last hymn, followed by more trumpet
and organ music as the congregation left the sanctuary. It was a most
impressive service, and the first wedding I had attended that very much
resembled a complete worship service.
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LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
This
is a touching love story heard at our 2005 family reunion, related to me by
daughter, Susan. She was talking with Uncle LeRol, who had pulled a picture of
his wife, Aunt Cora Lou, from his pocket to show Susan. He carries her picture
with him since her death in January of 2004. This is what he told Susan that
day.
Cora Lou was teaching school near
where LeRol Bishop lived when he was a young man. LeRol had seen the young
teacher in their community and thought she was beautiful. In fact, he had
walked into the school yard a few times, and had slipped up to her classroom
windows, peeked inside, and watched her teach. Shortly thereafter he was
invited to a party, and some of his friends urged him to ask Catherine Cox as
his date, the youngest daughter of Sam and Isa Cox, who was about his age.
However, ever since he had seen Catherine’s older sister, Cora Lou, he already
knew that she was the one he would like to invite. LeRol was five years
younger than she, however, so he wondered whether or not she would attend it
with him. He finally gained enough courage to invite Cora Lou to be his date
for the party, and to his delight, she accepted the invitation.
That was the beginning of a lifelong
romance. From that first date, LeRol knew that he wanted to marry Cora Lou.
They dated for four-and-a-half years. On February 7, 1942, they were married
in Nelson, Georgia. Their romance lasted almost sixty-two years, until Cora
Lou’s death on January 4, 2004, at the age of eighty-seven.
Uncle LeRol continues to live in
Marietta, Georgia, where he and Cora Lou raised their four children. The
memories of his dearly beloved wife are vividly etched into his mind. He
enjoys talking about her to his family and friends, and his love for her
brightens his eyes whenever he speaks of her. May many of you readers find
such a long-lasting true love in your lives as that of Aunt Cora Lou and Uncle
LeRol Bishop!
MORE DEATHS IN THE COX FAMILY
Seventeen
days after Cora Lou’s death, Uncle Raymond Horton passed away in Richmond,
Virginia, on January 21, 2004. His wife, Catherine Cox Horton, preceded him in
death in 1985. Uncle Raymond, a disabled World War II veteran, had worked for
forty-four years for the Virginia Electric Power Company before his
retirement. He was survived by his three children, Ray, Don, and Eloise Reed;
six grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; two in-laws; and numerous nieces
and nephews on the Cox side of his family. Uncle Raymond and Aunt Catherine
Horton are buried in Richmond, Virginia.
Charles A. Little, husband of Carol
Cox Little, died on January 10, 2004, in Fulton County, Georgia, following
several years of failing health. The Littles had four children, Elizabeth Ann,
Charles Albert Little III, Clinton Edward Little, and Daniel Alcott Little.
Daniel died on April 22, 1995, when his plane crashed near Atlanta. A few
months after her husband’s death, Carol moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and
she now lives near her son, Clinton Edward Little, and his family.
FOUR BABY GIRLS MAKE DEBUT
The
descendants of Elmer Hoyle and Lela Cox Denman increased more than usual in
the year 2004, with four infant births. Isabel Adrianna Petty, Braden
Clare Denman, Catherine Leigh Eaton, and Taylor Rose Mann all arrived during
the year. Four baby girls, and not a single boy! I am looking forward to
meeting all these new additions to our Denman family at our 2005 family
reunion.
NEW GRANDPARENTS!
Amy
Lynn’s son by her former marriage, Joel Berlanga, had moved to California
about 1999, after he finished boot camp in the Marine Reserves, and he has
remained there. In the early 2000s he began dating Laura Vives, and after
several months, Joel took her to Texas to meet his family. At that time, they
were planning to get married.
On February 16, 2004, Joel and Laura
had a baby boy, Malachi Joel Berlanga. Laura also has a daughter, Ashley
Medina, who was ten years of age at the time. Laura and Joel live in a suburb
of Los Angeles. Amy Lynn and Charles became grandparents on that day when Joel
became a father. The new grandparents have enjoyed a few visits to California
to see little Malachi and the rest of his family. They wish that Joel and
Laura would decide to move to Texas so they could see them more often!
ERIC AND TYRA ANNOUNCE WEDDING PLANS
In
late winter, Eric and Tyra announced their wedding plans for a May 15, 2004,
wedding at the First Presbyterian Church in Hendersonville. Since the
sanctuary is not large, they decided to limit the guests to their immediate
family members, including aunts, uncles, first cousins, and their close
friends in the church, their town, and at UT. The couple had a busy spring,
trying to fit the extra activities surrounding their upcoming marriage into
their school and work schedules.
I was able to attend one of the
showers given in Hendersonville before Eric and Tyra’s wedding. I enjoyed
meeting the girls who would be in her wedding party on that day, and when that
special day arrived, I was glad that I already knew the young ladies. Tyra was
a beaming bride-to-be, and it was a joy to be able to join in that Saturday
afternoon affair.
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THE FIRST WEDDING OF A GRANDCHILD
May
15, 2004, was a big date in our family, because Eric was the first of my
grandchildren to marry. Tyra had asked Leah to be the flower girl, and
Benjamin the ring bearer. Eric had asked Charles to be a groomsman and Andrew
to be his best man in the wedding. They chose Megan and Amy Lynn to serve the
groom’s cake. Tyra and Eric had also asked Karen Baylor, Eric’s cousin, to be
the wedding director.
Following the rehearsal for the
wedding, Jennifer hosted the rehearsal dinner, which was catered in the
banquet room of the Hendersonville AmeriSuites Hotel, where we stayed during
the weekend. Guests were members of the wedding party, immediate family
members, out-of-town guests, and officiants. We had a delicious meal, catered
by Cornerstone Catering. Next, everyone enjoyed a video with music and
pictures of Eric’s and Tyra’s lives as they were growing up, and through the
five years of their courtship. This video was created by Eric’s cousin, James
Baylor. (James’s brother, Thomas Baylor, made an excellent video and
photographs of all the wedding events. Karen’s two sons, along with Karen,
later presented Eric and Tyra with professional-quality videos and pictures of
the wedding weekend.) After the video presentation, guests made toasts to the
young couple. Several friends and relatives stood to tell funny stories or to
give their blessings to the young couple. After a number of stories, Leah
stood up and said sweetly, "I think Eric and Tyra are the best couple of two!"
Leah was sitting at a table with Eric
and Tyra. One of the most amusing incidents of the evening was a comment Leah
made at the end of the dinner. She leaned over to Tyra and said, "I thought we
were having toast!" When Leah had heard that they would have toasts after the
meal, she had certainly misunderstood! This was the first such occasion for
the six-year-old twins. Benjamin and Leah had a great time absorbing all that
was going on around them during the evening.
Susan, Ed, and Megan were unable to
attend the rehearsal dinner because Megan had received her Master’s degree
earlier the same day in Greensboro, North Carolina. After the graduation
activities that day ended, they hurried from Greensboro to Hendersonville and
arrived at the hotel later that evening.
After the dinner, most members of the
Hankins family visited together in the lobby, while we waited for Christian to
arrive. He was driving down from Rochester, Minnesota, for the wedding. About
midnight he arrived, and we talked with him for a while before going to our
rooms. Some in our family had not seen him in several years, and they were
very surprised to see what a tall, handsome, young man he had become.
Early the next afternoon, everyone
assembled at the First Presbyterian Church in Hendersonville for the big
event. Karen Baylor and her team of ladies had done a beautiful job of
decorating the sanctuary and the fellowship hall. Tyra Elizabeth Tucker looked
beautiful in her wedding gown.
Her maid of honor was her younger
sister, Alyssa Tucker. Bridesmaids were her sister-in-law, Holly Tucker; Neely
Butler, an AOPi sorority sister of Tyra at UT; Margaret Parrish, another
college sorority sister; and Leah Griffith, flower girl. Leah was enjoying her
role as flower girl and a member of the wedding party. She stayed with the
other attendants most of the time, admiring them in their beautiful dresses.
Tyra had invited Leah to go to the beauty parlor that morning with her and the
other young ladies in the wedding party, so she could get her hair styled for
the wedding just as the older girls were planning to do. Leah was in her
seventh heaven when she did that!
Read more in the book. . .
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