Blessing Of The Fleet, Boat Parade

GOSPEL MUSIC WRIGHT PARK 4:00PM
Bring your lawn chair, view the Boat Parade and enjoy Gospel music by Lavon Stevens on the bluff in Wright Park or join the parade in your own boat. Make plans now to gather at the sandbar before 3:00 PM and process to the Public Dock in Wright Park honoring our Admiral of the Fleet, Mary Vaux.

Mary Bolen Vaux was a longtime resident of the Lowcountry after moving to Bluffton in the late 1970s from Greenville, SC.

Mary loved Bluffton and the people who made it a community. She was a quiet giver and doer with a passion for helping others. She lived by example, teaching her children to treat everyone with respect and kindness.

Mary also loved the river … appreciating every bit of what it has to offer. Sitting on the “Little Sandbar” and looking for shark’s teeth, throwing a cast net from her johnboat, floating up and down with the tides, picking crabs or shucking oysters for hours- she would even go back through others’ shells to make sure you didn’t leave any meat behind. She enjoyed it all.

Mary was an active volunteer in the Beaufort County Schools. She and her husband Roberts were instrumental in getting the new Michael C. Riley school built and continued to be volunteers for the annual oyster roast to raise money for the library, play ground equipment, and landscaping.
Golfing was another interest of Mary’s, which led her to volunteer for more than 20 years in the pressroom at the Heritage Golf Tournament, now known as the RBC Heritage.
In 1987, Mary and her best friend Nancy Golson founded May River Montessori, since there was no preschool available at the time through the public school system. The Christian based Montessori school opened its doors with 17 students. More than three decades later and hundreds of graduates, the school has continued to flourish playing a significant role in the growing Bluffton community.
Mary was a long time member of the Church of the Cross and served many years on the vestry there.
Second to the Lord, Mary loved her family the most. She is survived by her husband of 45 years, Roberts Vaux, and their four children Mary Gwinn Hayes (John) of Spartanburg, SC, Emily Burden (Chris), Tabor Vaux (Erin) and Anna Pepper Hewett (Jason) all of Bluffton. As well as 11 grandchildren; Rollins Hayes, Audrey, Hayne, Wyatt and Faye Burden, Roberts and Ella Vaux, Addison, Pepper, Vivian and Mills Hewett.

Mary passed away this past March from Alzheimer’s disease.

________________________________________________________

Lavon Stevens is known for his soulful jazz, contemporary and blues music. A native of Savannah, Ga. Lavon began singing and playing piano at the age of 7. He began performing in local groups across the Southeast at the age of thirteen. His first instrument was the violin. He later studied voice and piano at Dekalb College in Atlanta, Ga. from 1979 to 1983.
He has traveled and performed all over the country including Aspen, Co., Atlanta, Ga. and Orlando, Fla. The resort vacation destination of Hilton Head Island, SC has been his home since 1981. He is one of the premier entertainers in Hilton Head Island, SC. Lavon is affiliated with BMI as a Publisher/Songwriter.

He serves on the board as a member of The Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra and is one of the music producers for The Native Island Gullah Festival. He is very active with The Junior Jazz Foundation at The Jazz Corner and he is also a member of the Circle of Songs organization. His CD “I See Love” was released in 1996 and features all original compositions. He is producing a variety of shows and recording projects including other R&B, Jazz, and Gospel artists.