SAVE THE DATE!
The Memorial Service for my Father-In-Law, Dr. John Mark Dean, will be held in the city of West Columbia, SC at the retirement home where he lived on Sunday, July 20, 2025 in the afternoon.
All family and friends are encouraged to attend, especially his former students.
See his obituary on the local Columbia newspaper, Post and Courier, at this link: https://obits.postandcourier.com/us/obituaries/columbia/name/john-dean-obituary?id=58052615
See my previous blog post here: https://sophia.scottandlara.com/2025/03/28/dr-john-mark-dean-has-passed-away/
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make a contribution to the South Carolina Environmental Law Project (https://www.scelp.org/ways-to-give), the Alzheimer’s Association (https://www.alz.org), or the Laurel Crest retirement community via Presbyterian Communities of South Carolina ATTN: Laurel Crest (https://giving.prescommunities.org).
Mountains of thanks to the generous folks who contributed to the private fundraiser I ran for supporting women and gender minorities fighting in the East Kingdom’s first ever Crown Tournament by Rapier! See the completed website here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-women-and-gender-minorities-in-rapier-crown-tourney
I wanted to demonstrate with quantifiable action how much the people of the SCA support new formats of Crown Tournament and especially support opportunities for women and gender minorities to serve the SCA as royalty. We did just that!
We raised $1500 with people donating from throughout the SCA! The donors who allowed their names to be published include the following:
- Shawn MacIntyre
- Jenn Eiland
- Robert Tupper
- Rachael Scialabba
- Wendy Marques
- Frederick Hollander
- Lisa Losito
- Karen Field
- David McWhorter
- Kathi (Lucia) Coutinho
- Heather Hupp
- Christopher Ernenwein
- Olivier André
- Stacy Morang
- Danielle Fecteau
- Margret Campbell
- Christopher Hourcle
- Shannon Dillon
- Frank Hetherington
- Sara Collins
- Alicia Fansmith
- Nataliia Hurd
- Michelle Gore
- Mittie Lees
- Mike Bannon
The money was spent on gas gift cards, $130 each, for 11 rapier fighters who competed in the Crown Tournament. A small amount of the money raised was spent on the admin fees from Go Fund Me.
Sincere thanks to the folks who donated money, to the East Kingdom leaders who managed to get a Crown Tournament by Rapier to happen, and the courageous women and gender minority fighters who stepped up into the limelight to fight in this historic Crown Tournament!
Sincerely,
Dame Sophia the Orange, OL
Lara Coutinho-Dean can be found on LinkedIn for insight into to world of Knowledge Management. KM is the intersection of technology, people, and processes. THIS BLOG, however, is for: Social Activism, Emotional Growth Support, Community Theater, Commedia dell' Arte, Shakespeare, and SCA hobby stuff. I play a character in the SCA named Dame Sophia the Orange in the Kingdom of Atlantia. I'm currently serving as the Kingdom Minister of Arts and Sciences. Please subscribe for announcements!
