Fate? Destiny? Karma? Are you someone who believes there’s no such thing as coincidences? Whether you believe or not, some kind of magic (perhaps patience) played a role in the love story of Lauren and Dennis Puckey, for it mirrors the love stories of both their parents.

Dennis’ parents, Bob and Dolores Puckey, were sweethearts in high school. When Bob moved to Michigan after graduation, Dolores followed, and they eloped. They were married on March 15, 1956.

Mellow Lee began visiting her grandparents’ Hilton Head Island home in the mid-1980s.

Somehow their tiny piece of the Lowcountry always felt like a close second home to her. Mellow spent her entire life in Charleston, West Virginia, except for a year in Morgantown. However, life somewhat came full circle for her, and the Lowcountry became her next home when the Beaufort County School District Deputy Superintendent position became available in September 2023.

“It was difficult to leave my coworkers and family in West Virginia, but it was an opportunity, and I was looking for something to help me grow,” said Mellow. Her son, his fiancé, and their daughter moved into Mellow’s West Virginia home, while she headed south. “I had my mind set on coming here,” she said. However, she was surprised when she received the phone call from Beaufort County School District, as she had previously applied for the same position and never heard back.

There’s more to A’Nya Marshburn’s life story than meets the eye.

A’Nya graduated from high school as salutatorian with a full-ride scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She earned two bachelor’s degrees in psychology and human development and family studies in three years and graduated from the honors college. She then earned her master’s degree in social work from Columbia University.

A’Nya Marshburn is a mere 23 years old.


Before COVID arrived, A’Nya trained and became a Certified Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Technician. ABA therapy is the gold standard of care and an evidence-based practice that targets children with autistic behaviors.

Jackie Rosswurm, Ph.D, sees life differently than most people. Teaching, learning, and problem solving drive many facets of her life, and she often handles challenges and opportunities with these classroom techniques. It’s a recipe for success, and her resume proves it.


Jackie hails from Monroe, Michigan, a small town south of Detroit where the automotive industry was king. Monroe was a factory town where packing materials and cardboard were made to supply the automotive industry. Jackie grew up in an average family and was the oldest of three children, the only girl, and the first in her family to go to college.

Life has a way of guiding people toward their calling. What do you feel you have been called to do?
I firmly believe our purpose is to serve one another. My greatest desire is for the Lord’s light to shine through my life, guiding others toward Him. I aim to inspire not with my words, but through my actions. Like everyone, I am human and make mistakes daily, sometimes even before I get out of bed. Still, I am dedicated to helping each person I encounter in any way I can.

You have a heart to serve others. Did this come naturally or did someone or something inspire you to get involved and make a difference?
Throughout my life, I developed a deep love and appreciation of people. Inspired by my mom, who cares for everyone, I learned the importance of genuine connections. In both business and personal relationships, she prioritized people above all else. (Her best connection ever was setting me up with Paul on a blind date—talk about mutually beneficial!

As a child, Rosanna Keyes loved animals, and her bedroom walls were plastered with posters of all kinds of animals—even tigers. She was 8 years old when she found a stray cat lying in a culvert and wanted to help it, but the cat bit her and had to be put down in case it had rabies. It was a tough introduction to euthanasia. Two years later, she was surprised by her uncle who raised Collies: “One of his litters wasn’t show-quality, and I finally got my Lassie,” she said.

Her husband introduced her to animal rescue shelters and the joy of being outdoors. They started with rescuing horses and eventually changed over to working with dogs. “We always adopted rescue dogs at the holidays. We had eight dogs when we split up, and I won the dogs in my divorce.” While living in Virginia, Rosanna also offered socialization training for other dogs in her fenced-in yard.

Sharon Middleton is an encourager. She drives her own spiffy red car every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning in the dark to begin dialysis at 5:30 a.m. Despite the early hour, she is always perky and friendly to everyone. She likes to get there early and be finished by 8:30 or 9:00 in order to have the rest of her day to enjoy herself. This has been her schedule for the past three years or so, and it works just fine for her.

I met with Sharon on a Wednesday afternoon at her home, where Leo, her devoted dog, greeted me at the door. He is a new addition to Sharon’s life: He needed a home, and Sharon needed a new dog. He’s a poodle mix and as sweet and well-behaved as he can be. Leo parked himself right by his new mistress and regarded me with much interest. She had dialysis earlier that morning, and after a short nap in her chair when she got home, she was ready for our visit.

While there are many differences between us as individuals, one common denominator that unites us all is the grief we feel after losing a loved one.
 
In 2003, Carol Moorehead and her husband, Richard, drove from their home in New Jersey to Florida, deciding to visit friends in Hilton Head along the way. They immediately fell in love with the Island and began looking for a home. Carol and Richard were unable to find the house of their dreams in the tight real estate market during that first visit. However, Carol’s friend of 55 years (who was not a realtor) said, “I’ll find one for you!” So, Carol and Richard continued on their trip to Florida, and sure enough, her friend found them a home. On their way back north, they visited the listing, entered into a bidding war, and were initially elated when their offer was accepted.

You are the queen of the wine industry on Hilton Head Island. Not only are you the General Manager of Roller’s Wine & Spirits, you also designed the gorgeous Roller’s retail and tasting kitchen on Palmetto Bay Road. How did you get into the wine business? 
After 10 years in special events and catering sales, my boss in Atlanta told me, “Darling, you’ve maximized your potential in this arena. I’ve never seen anyone do what you’ve done by age 26. Consider the wine industry… your palate is remarkable and a gift.” I knew then, especially with two babies in diapers, it was time to switch gears. 

There are many facets to running Roller’s, which is a high-volume store with many departments and moving parts. What do you enjoy the most in your day-to-day work?
Seeing the staff grow and empowering them. When I first moved to Hilton Head, I knew I had to learn all about wine. I got a job at Red Fish. Young Jimmy Schmid was working there, and he was the epitome of “hustle.” Years later, I talked John Kelsey, owner of Roller’s, into hiring him and our Class-B division took off. If I’m the Wine Queen, John is the Liquor King, and Jimmy is definitely heir to the throne! Roller’s has more than 40 local, hardworking staff members, some we hired at just over 21 years old.

As a child, Savannah Hylton traveled to Hilton Head to attend golf school. When her mother, Heather Hylton, sensed the time was right for a fresh start, she moved Savannah and her brother to the island in 2014. “Who wouldn’t want to start over at the beach,” Heather asked. “Driving over the bridge, your blood pressure drops. It just feels like home.”

Savannah graduated from high school with a golf scholarship to Furman University and played on the college team as a freshman. As COVID protocols became a day-to-day reality, college life became lonely for many students. Savannah decided to return home to be with family.

As fate would have it, she attended a bridal shower where the host presented a “grazing table” with lots of yummy things to taste. Admiring the beautiful table together, the hostess said to Savannah, “You can do this!”

Ty Ware loves to succeed, and her inspiration for her success is her 6-year-old daughter, Olyvia. “I wake up every day and make sure she’s okay. I want the best for her, so I set high standards and teach by example. Being a Mama Bear is everything. Structure is important, and she’s a really good kid, so there’s no need for discipline. I believe in a higher power,” Ty said.

Ty, a St. Helena native, is a sous chef at Sea Pines Resort. She’s a single mom who co-parents Olyvia with her ex-partner. She said because she has a great co-parenting relationship, she can drop Olyvia off at 7:30 a.m. to make her 90-minute commute from St. Helena to Sea Pines.

Jacqueline (Jackie) Pinckney is a Lowcountry native who finds great joy in her job, loves her co-workers and Frankie Bones Restaurant.

However, Jackie has seen her share of hardship and tragedy over the years. Raised in Walterboro, Jackie hails from a large, closely connected family. She’s the second oldest on her dad’s side and the oldest on her mom’s side. One sister lives in Bluffton, another sister resides in Ridgeland—more on her later—and Jackie’s mom and a brother still live in Walterboro. Jackie was partially raised by her grandparents until her mother returned from New York to the Lowcountry. That close family bond has stayed with Jackie all her life and continues through her extended family.

Zoë Farley is a very busy young woman. She’s mom to 8-year-old Emily and daughter to Nancy and Allen Farley. She is a restaurant manager, a student, and she will be graduating this semester from the Technical College of the Lowcountry Culinary Institute of the South.

Zoë is also impressively punctual, arriving early to meet me at the new Beaufort Harris Teeter bar area. But we weren’t drinking alcohol; we were having vanilla matcha lattes with almond milk. That was her order, and being daring, I just said, “I’ll have that, too.” With long, gorgeous brown hair and big beautiful eyes, she was calm and quite unruffled for meeting a stranger for the first time. She put me at ease even though she was being interviewed. I revealed I didn’t know what a vanilla matcha latte was, but I like trying new things. Zoë correctly described it as tasting like birthday cake. It was a tea drink, which turned out to be delicious! I didn’t think I could go wrong with a suggestion from a professional chef.

Cool art vibes saturate the air in every form and medium in the Lowcountry, one of the
most beautiful natural canvases on earth. With all the surrounding beauty, it’s no wonder
the Lowcountry is teeming with creative minds and talented artists. Some do it for fun.
Some do it for a living. All do it to nourish their inherent need to create.

Welcome to our fifth year featuring Lowcountry Originals, where you will meet six dynamic artisans, all filled with creative energy and verve for their work. They have allowed us a peek into their creative minds, revealed their fears and doubts, told us what inspires them, and given us insight into their processes.

Enjoy a creative stroll and step into the Lowcountry art scene:

Miho Kinnas
Art: Poetry
Career: Corporate, consulting to freelance
Current Residence: Hilton Head
Hometown: Yokohama, Japan
Family: Husband, Ben. Daughter, Leslie, married and lives in Philadelphia. Dusty, the Labrador- deceased

When and how did you discover your artistic talent? How and / or why did you choose this medium? What do you love about it?
I was born and raised in Japan, my father a publisher, my mother an editor. The house was filled with books, but I didn’t know I would be a poet writing in English until I was 40 years old. We were living in Hong Kong, and I became unemployed and thought I’d become a literary translator. Then, one of my mentors, Allegra Wong, told me I must be a poet to translate poetry. Within ten years, the Museum of American Poetics published my poems, thanks to another mentor, Marc Olmsted, followed by a Master of Fine Arts in poetry from the City University of Hong Kong. I love the process of making a poem and putting together a book. The more I learn, the more I see how much freedom poetry offers to both readers and writers.

Beth Inabinett
Art: Music—singer, songwriter, performing artist, bandleader of “Beth Inabinett & For The FunK Of It”
Current Residence & Hometown:
Saint Helena Island, SC
Career: 30 years in Counseling, Human Services & Education;
Certified K-12 School Guidance Counselor and Global Career Development Facilitator
Family: Daughter of Shirley Brown Inabinett & the late Heyward Inabinett; 2 older sisters: Sharon & Gail; 1 younger brother:
Heyward, II “Reggie”; 2 sons: Zuhri (21) & Solomon (17); bonus daughter: Tiana Parker; bonus grandchildren: Keion & Kyana.

When and how did you discover your artistic talent? How and/or why did you choose this medium? What do you love about it?
I love how music allows me to be and feel free; it connects me with other beautiful souls; it spreads peace, love, light, and laughter. I get to relive my childhood and honor my favorite artists. Music inspires me to dance, move, and raise my vibration. Music is spiritual; it heals me and many others. It’s a gift my mom unselfishly passed on to me, and I am forever grateful. Singing is my tribute to her.

Alicia Franco
Art: Aquatic Adventure / Wildlife imagery
Career: Underwater Photographer & Videographer
Current Residence: Hilton Head Island
Hometown: Kailua-Kona, HI
Family: Mother, Father, Sister, Brother, Boyfriend & 2 fluffy dogs!

When and how did you discover your artistic talent? How and/or why did you choose this medium? What do you love about it?
My mom was the person who originally instilled an appreciation of photography within me. Throughout my childhood, her Nikon film camera was never far from her reach as she captured everything from my first swim to saturated sunsets behind our house, contrasted by the silhouette of a Great Blue Heron. Our home was adorned with precious moments preserved for a lifetime thanks to her keen eye.

At the age of 15, I got my first job as a photographer on a dolphin swimming tour off the west coast of Oahu. I had previously dabbled with my mom’s camera but when my new boss handed me a DSLR inside a water housing and told me, ‘If you can dive 20 feet down to the bottom on a single breath of air and take a picture of those fish, I’ll hire you,’ an entirely new world opened up to me.

Elizabeth (Beth) Schlieger
Art: Multifaceted Artist—works range from traditional painting to theatrical costumes
Career: High School Visual Art Teacher and Board President May River Theatre (Artistic Director, Director, Costume Designer)
Current Residence: Bluffton Hometown: Marshall, Wisconsin
Family: Married 31 years to Don Schlieger;
2 children: Alex (28) and Cait (27)

When and how did you discover your artistic talent? How and/or why did you choose this medium? What do you love about it?
My earliest memories of creating are drawing horses with my father; I was about 4. I do not work with one medium, but flow amongst painting, ceramics, and costume design. I love the physicality of the medium, and when I have the time to fully immerse myself in the process, the rest of the world disappears. With ceramics there is something in the process that connects me to the environment. Utilizing material that was harvested from the earth and creating art from it just feels like the ultimate human experience. And with costumes, who doesn’t like creating a whole new world? I started making my own costumes in elementary school. As an actual art, I landed a job at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina as a wardrobe supervisor. They were down a draper, so I tapped into my earlier interests, and here I am, designing and creating the costumes for all of the shows at May River Theatre. For me creating the visual experience of a production is the ultimate “painting”, just the “brushes” are different.

Art: Ceramics and Acrylic Painting
Current Residence: Bluffton
Hometown: Logan, WV
Career: Artist, Ceramics & Painting (retired professor)
Family: Husband, Richard Allen

How did you choose this medium? What do you love about it?
My third-grade report card said that I was a dreamer. Guess that teacher was right. I’ve never stopped dreaming. My first masterpiece was a circus train created with crayons. I also loved to sing and to work with clay. Over the years these three things continue to be my passion.

Art: Murals and Live Event Painting 
Career: Professional artist 
Current Residence: Bluffton
Hometown: Jacksonville, FL
Family: Husband Kaleb Spears; two sons: Danny and Myles 

When and how did you discover your artistic talent? How and/or why did you choose this medium? What do you love about it?
I have always had a love for art, from bringing my sketchbook to the park as a kid to taking AP art classes in high school, it was definitely a constant for me. I never dreamed of turning that passion into a career, I just assumed it would be a side endeavor. However, as life unfolded, I found myself constantly drawn to it until I eventually decided to make the jump into a full-time pursuit. I have never looked back! 

September 17 will mark 35 years since Hugo, a Category 5 hurricane, tore through the U.S. Virgin Islands and the southern coast of the United States. The island of St. Croix, which measures only 26 by 6 miles, is where Cathy Schneider survived the harrowing experience of September 1989 when Hugo swept through the U.S. territory with 168 mile per hour winds, destroying 90 percent of homes and businesses on the island. Communications and transportation were knocked out, and for a time, St. Croix’s 55,000 people were simply cut-off from the world. This included Cathy and Paul Schneider and their two sons, aged 6 months and three years old at the time.

You and your husband, Kyle, left last September for a year of travel with the mantra: “Two 30-somethings touring the world together and sharing our story along the way.” What does an experience like this mean to each of you?
Our dream has always been to see the world, to learn from others, to search our souls and open our minds, heal our hearts, and better ourselves.

In the past year, you’ve visited 20 countries, five continents and circumnavigated the Earth. How did this magnificent plan for travel arise?
Another part of our dream was to find the freedom to go. In 2022, we made it our goal to travel somewhere every month. We would make weekend trips to St. Augustine, Savannah, and to see my family in Mississippi. We hopped on planes to England, Greece, Guatemala, and Mexico. Traveling and experiencing new cultures and ways of life is what makes us happy, so we mapped out a plan to do that full-time for a year, at least.

Sometimes life gives you an opportunity you can’t pass up.

Lin Socio is a former Pittsburgher who has called Hilton Head Island home for 25 years. A retired realtor, Lin raised her children in her Hilton Head Plantation home. Now known as “Mimi” to her grandchildren, Lin shares an especially close bond with her 10-year-old granddaughter, Lilyana. Lin also enjoys a maternal friendship with her former daughter-in-law, Cara, Lily’s mother.

Like many girls her age, Lily is a devout Taylor Swift fan. Cara searched high and low for reasonably priced Taylor Swift concert tickets across the U.S. Swift’s highly acclaimed “The Eras Tour” has swept the globe and was released as a film last October. Lin, Cara, and Lily saw the movie twice, but it wasn’t the live concert experience they desired.

By the time her smash hit “I Love You Always Forever” zoomed up the record charts in 1996, Donna Lewis was in her 30s and had paid her dues. Usually when someone hits the big time, people automatically think “overnight success.” However, Donna’s passion for music began when she started playing piano at age 6. It was natural for her musical interest to blossom, as she was raised in a musical household. Her father was an amateur jazz musician and had a huge record collection. Music was as much a part of their home as electricity and water.

Four words describe Phyllis Neville’s reaction to a recent safari trip to Kenya: “You just gotta go!” She’s traveled to places like Switzerland and Italy, but said nothing has compared to Africa, seeing amazing animals in their natural settings. Phyllis exclaimed, “I’ve seen elephants and giraffes in the zoo, of course, but seeing a herd of elephants in the savanna, or a zebra sitting right behind your cabin is fantastic!”

Phyllis is originally from San Antonio, Texas, and attended Texas Tech in Lubbock. She pledged her sorority in 1974 and has kept in touch with her sorority girlfriends ever since. “Over the years we would have reunions, and now, with our digital world, we stay in touch even more. One sorority friend is a Spanish teacher who has taken numerous trips to Spain with her students over the years. From that, she started organizing group trips based on offerings of EF Tours (educational tours and language programs abroad). This year she organized a trip to Africa, and I wanted to go.”

The Links Incorporated is an international, not-for-profit corporation, established in 1946 by a small group of women in Philadelphia. Today the membership consists of more than 17,000 professional women of African descent in 299 chapters across 41 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, and the United Kingdom. It is one of the nation’s oldest and largest volunteer service organizations of extraordinary women who are committed to enriching, sustaining and ensuring the culture and economic survival of African Americans and other persons of African ancestry.

You have been involved with Girl Scouts for 48 years! Thank you so much for being a positive, wonderful part of so many girls’ lives. What is it about the Girl Scouts that has made you want to support them and stick with them for so long?
I was raised on a small family farm three miles outside of Varnville, SC. As a girl, I wasn’t a Girl Scout, but I’ve more than made up for it as a Girl Scout leader. I started my first troop with my daughter Becky (she was a Brownie). And later, I started the first Daisy Girl Scout Troop with my granddaughter, Cindy. When my husband of 39 years passed and my grown children had families of their own, Girl Scouts gave me something to do and be a part of.

Lindsey Gleason and her husband, Joe, have a two-year old son named Jordan who will become a big brother in a few months because Lindsey is six months pregnant. Leaving her teaching job when Jordan was born, she experienced the hard realization that it’s difficult to keep your work friends when you’re not with them anymore.

Lindsey first moved to the Lowcountry when she was in middle school. “It was a huge cultural shock coming from New York. When I moved back after college at Penn State, it was hard at first to adjust, starting over with new adult friendships through work. Family is thankfully around, but I wanted kids Jordan’s age around, too. After joining MOMS Club, both Jordan and I have gained friendships. MOMS Club members are like family.”

Debbie Gorski arrived on Hilton Head Island like many other residents: as a tourist. She and her husband began vacationing on the Island in 1988.

The couple purchased a second home in Sea Pines when Debbie’s husband decided to join her in retirement in May 2017. Their main residence was in Dallas, where their adult children still live. Debbie and her husband planned to live it up and travel back and forth between the two locations. However, just three short weeks after returning to Dallas from Hilton Head, Debbie’s husband passed away from a catastrophic heart attack.

Imagine a huge fire engine, horns blaring, lights flashing–and tin cans tied to the back bumper as it whisks away a beautiful bride and smiling groom. On May 18, Lieutenant Haley Langford married another firefighter, Dalton Kearnes, in Beaufort. “It was a dream for both of us. We had a perfect ceremony and then danced the night away to the music of Deas Guyz,” Haley reminisced.

Haley chose a wedding gown with lots of buttons down the back. As the big day approached, she became a little melancholy, worrying about who would help with her dress because she always thought it would be her mother, whom she lost to Covid in 2021. She wanted to honor her mom at the wedding and decided it would be through her “something blue.” So she created her “Mom-tourage,” a group of 16 women who all wore blue. “They were mine and Mom’s favorite women—best friends, aunts, women who have looked after me my whole life. They made my wedding even more special.”