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Hardin Joyce's lost ring comes home

Priscilla Joyce with her late husband’s Clemson ring — lost and found.

When Hardin Joyce graduated from Clemson with an engineering degree in 1951, he purchased a Clemson ring, which he wore proudly. He had served in the military after high school and chose Clemson in part because a fellow soldier was always talking about his time there. In 1966, Joyce lost his ring, and no matter how much he and his wife, Priscilla, searched their home in Thomasville, N.C., they never found it.

Hardin Joyce died in 2011, and Priscilla now lives in a retirement facility. In March, she received a phone call from Jessie Chambers, who lives in the Joyces’ old house. Chambers had been replacing shrubs near the back porch and came upon a Clemson ring from the Class of 1951 with Hardin Joyce’s name and hometown inscribed on it. Buried from 1966 until 2018, the ring was in near-perfect condition.

The lost Clemson ring of Hardin Joyce ’51, unearthed from the yard of his old home.

While Hardin Joyce wasn’t alive to enjoy the return of his ring, it meant a great deal to Priscilla, who shared the story with McLaurin “Chuck” Rivers, who shared it with us. She now treasures that physical symbol of his pride in Clemson. 

“I was delighted,” Priscilla says about the return of the ring. “It brought back such wonderful memories. The ring was very valuable to him and meant a great deal. He had so many wonderful memories of his days of being in Clemson.” In years past, the Joyces regularly returned to campus for sporting events and to visit favorite spots from his college days, when he played on the baseball team. “He loved his Clemson,” she says.

Do you have a ring story to share?

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Charlotte Cobb '91 named Clemson Alumni Association's Volunteer of the Year

The Alumni Association has selected Charlotte Underwood Cobb of Marietta, Ga., to receive the 2017 Frank Kellers III Volunteer of the Year award. The award recognizes an alumnus for outstanding volunteerism and service to the University.

The Alumni Association chose Cobb for her role in reviving, growing and re-energizing the Atlanta Clemson Club. Her leadership in increasing the number of events and locations around the Metro Atlanta area has improved accessibility and offered more opportunities to a broader range of alumni.

Cobb has also volunteered extensively for nonprofit organizations in the Atlanta community such as the Special Olympics of Georgia, Toys for Tots, the Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research and Ronald McDonald House Charities (in both Atlanta and Australia).

As a global events manager for The Coca-Cola Co., Cobb had various roles in planning and executing the company’s global hospitality program for five Olympic games, three FIFA World Cups and two Rugby World Cups. She now owns and runs her own company, 7C’s Event Management.

Clemson Club News

On March 14, the Atlanta Clemson Club volunteered with the Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research and their meal adoption program. Club members served lunch at Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital to kids who are courageously fighting cancer as well as their families. The BBQ lunch was donated by alumni Tyler and Juliana Lindley, owners of Freckled & Blue Kitchen in Marietta, and the kids loved visiting with alumnus and Atlanta Falcons star Vic Beasley Jr. The club also welcomed Davis Babb, CEO of IPTAY, to their Speaker Series in March to share about IPTAY’s role in supporting athletics and the University.

 


Members of the San Diego Clemson Club along with alumni from the Los Angeles area came out to support the men’s basketball team in their amazing run in the NCAA tournament. This group is pictured at the game against New Mexico State, which Clemson won 79-68 to move to the second round.

 


The Charlotte and York County Clemson clubs helped to make a dream come true for Rock Hill High School student Brandon Dorman, who is living with stage 4 kidney disease. Each club donated $500 to fund his trip to Clemson. Dream On 3, an organization that makes dreams come true for children with chronic illnesses, developmental disabilities, or life-altering conditions, and representatives of the two clubs surprised Dorman at his school with a bus trip for him and his family to Howard’s Rock and a tour of the football facility as well as a chance to meet the coaching staff and players and attend spring practice. Kudos to Richard Doane with the Charlotte Club for getting the initiative started and to Jodie Smith from the York County Club for finalizing the efforts.

 


The Colleton County Clemson Club recently hosted a Wine and Design event featuring the talents and instruction of local Clemson art student Holly Rizer. Proceeds benefited the club’s scholarship fund for local students.

 


The South Florida Clemson Club had a nice turnout of 25 for Clemson Day at the Florida Panthers hockey game. Contact Jeff Goodman at jsgclemson@aol.com for more information about South Florida events.

 
 


While the Japan Alumni group is not yet an official Clemson Club, some of the more than 50 Clemson alumni and friends in Japan have been getting together for events a few times a year. They are exploring ways to support the University including providing support and guidance to students studying abroad in Japan or alumni moving to Japan for work, as well as finding internship opportunities for students. They are hoping to be the first international chartered alumni club. They gathered in November when Yuki Kihara Horose, study-abroad coordinator for Clemson Abroad, and Carolyn Crist, a student adviser with the College of Architecture, Art and Humanities Global Engagement, were visiting partner institutions in Japan. The group joined emeritus professors Yuji Kishimoto and Toshiko Kishimoto in Tokyo, their hometown, where they received the Japanese national medal of distinction in 2017.