Local resident’s ties to Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck prompts special recognition ceremony
November 9, 2015
COLUMBIA, SC – For the past 39 years, Ruth Hudson has attended the Edmund Fitzgerald Annual Memorial Ceremony held at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum near Paradise, Michigan. Hudson lost her son, Bruce, on November 10, 1975 as he was one of the 29-member crew that perished when the 729-foot ore freighter, S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald, sank near Whitefish Point, Michigan. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the tragedy and the first memorial service that Hudson, a resident of The Crossings at Columbia, must miss due to her health.
In an effort to help Hudson continue to honor her son’s memory and this year’s milestone anniversary, The Crossings at Columbia will conduct a special ceremony during the Veterans Benefits program on November 10 at 2:00 p.m. Marine Colonel Greg M. Woodward, the regional director of operations (south region) with Harmony Senior Services, will present a certificate to Hudson on behalf of the senior living community. In addition, a short video will be shown and shipwreck memorabilia will be on display.
Although Hudson will be more than 1,000 miles away from the actual ceremony this year, The Crossings at Columbia will “live stream” the event from the Whitefish Point Light House Station, home to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum located in northern Michigan. The special service will include music and reflections. Hudson will also be able to experience the “Call to the Last Watch” ceremony where the ship’s bell, the significant artifact recovered during a diving expedition in 1995, will be rung 29 times for the men who lost their lives on that day. The bell will toll an additional time for all sailors who have died on the Great Lakes.
For information contact Dinah Bailes, executive director of The Crossings at Columbia, at (803) 223-9560 or via e-mail at [email protected].
About The Crossings at Columbia
The Crossings at Columbia is a state-of-the-art Assisted Living and Memory Care community located in northeast Columbia. The 68,000 square-foot assisted living community features 66 spacious one- or two bedroom and studio designed assisted living apartment homes. The 22 suite memory care neighborhood, Harmony Square, is devoted to those individuals with various memory impairments. Conveniently located near Providence Hospital Northeast, The Crossings at Columbia provides onsite physical, occupational, and speech rehabilitation therapies, a variety of health and wellness programs, recreational activities, transportation, and housekeeping.
About Harmony Senior Services
Harmony Senior Services, LLC in Roanoke, Virginia, owns and operates Independent Living, Assisted Living and Memory Care communities for Smith/Packett. A fully integrated, self-contained management company, Harmony was founded in 2008 to meet the emerging market trends relating to the growing need for senior living services and care communities. The company currently manages communities in Virginia and South Carolina. Visit www.harmonyseniorservices.com and www.smithpackett.com for more information.
