Bette Smith Griffith (+) ’52 and Joseph Griffith (+) ’46: Bette Smith and Joe Griffith both graduated from BEHS. Bette in 1952 and Joe in 1946. While not classmates, they did know each other growing up. After attending the St. Bernard Seminary, Joe joined the army and served in the Pentagon and at Fort Jackson. When he returned to Charleston, he and Bette started dating. A friend of his had just purchased a new convertible and asked Joe to get a date so they could go on a double date. Joe asked Bette and the rest is history.
Bette and Joe cherished their Catholic education and made sure that their children were afforded the same opportunity. They faithfully supported Bishop England throughout their lives. They enjoyed their friendships with their classmates, their children’s and grandchildren’s classmates, and BEHS alumni for many decades.

Mary Santos Blanchard (+) ’45 and Claude Blanchard (+) ’46

Helena McKay Vivona ’56 and Frederick McKay (+) ’56: Fred and I met during Chemistry Class. We were lab partners. The rest is history. I have two children,Frederick McKay, Jr. ’80 and
Beth McKay Fisher ’82.

St. Clair Shahid Michel ’59 and John P. Michel, III ’59: We met at BE and began dating. Went to the Junior Senior dance together. All four of our boys attended BEHS –
Jay Michel, IV 1984
Brian Michel 1985
Mark Michel 1987
David Michel 1990

Kathleen Cantwell Couturier ’59 and Julian “Jay” B. Couturier, Jr. ’59: I first met Jay at my 16th birthday party. He came to my party with his best friend who at that time was interested in one of my close friends. Jay and I were just classmates until our Junior year. Our first date was to a movie on a Sunday afternoon! We held hands….and talked about the great times we had had that summer. During the summer months we would hitch a ride to IOP and dance all night long. Take our shoes off and stroll on the beach. Life was simple and slow. It was the 50’s. It’s been 58 awesome years since we got married. We are still best friends (husband and wife). All of our children graduated from BEHS: Alicia C. Mikell (1984); Julian B.Couturier III(Tre) (1986); Kristi C.Rosengarten (1989); Byron P. Couturier (1992)

Linda Mullen Wade ’59 and Robert (Billy) Wade ’59: My brother, Larry Mullen (Class of 1965) and my now sister-in-la, Barbara Campbell Wade (Class of 1961) thought we would be perfect for each other. They suggested Billy call me. Our first date was on October 31, 1970. Things went well and after several dates we became engaged on December 13, 1970. We were married in St. Joseph’s Catholic Church on May 1, 1971 and our first born, Lisa, made her appearance on February 18, 1972. Three years later we were blessed with our son, Robbie, on May 27, 1975.
We will celebrate our 50th Anniversary this year and though many do not believe it, we have never had an argument. It’s been a wonderful life. We have to children, Lisa Louise Wade MacNair ’90 and Robert Joseph Wade, II ’93

Michael Duffy ’61 and Katherine Hostetter Duffy ’61: “I transferred from St. Charles in Baltimore to BEHS my junior year. The first football game was the Friday prior to the start of school. After the game, everyone gathered at the Holly House, including the cheerleaders. I only knew those I had gone to grade school with, but one I didn’t know was Kathy Hostetter, who caught my interest. We started dating at the homecoming football game our senior year and continued through college. We married after my first year in law school on June 4, 1966. She still has my interest!” We have three children, Katie Duffy Dueholm, Patrick Duffy, Jr., and Brian Duffy, and seven grandchildren.

Carl Poole, Jr. 61 and Janet Dawkins Poole ’61: “When I was in my Sr. year in high school I needed a date for Sadie Hawkins but I wanted to ask someone who could dance. My friend suggested I ask Carl.(had no prior communication w/ him.) so I asked him. When it was time for Homecoming the coach told the Sr. Boys that they had to have a sponsor or they could not play in the game, so Carl asked me.
Later on in the year we went on our Senior trip to Washington on a rickety school bus, & we spent many hours together, so from that time forward we were dating. Carl attended Clemson University, & I stayed in Charleston, for a bumpy ride until his Sr. year where we spent our 1st year in marriage & started our family 10 months later on Father’s Day. Carl participated in track while at Clemson, & earned many points for his talents, thus many years later the BE track was named in his honor. We have four children: MaryBeth Poole Poston 1984
Carl Edward Poole III 1986
James Preston Poole 1990
Christopher Ernest Poole 2000

Jerry Wade ’61 and Barbara Campbell Wade ’61: Back in June of 1962 I had a date with a young man from California. We went to the Isle of Palms to dance. Well this guy has no idea how to shag and he was slinging me all over the dance floor. I looked up and saw Jerry sitting on the deck railing. I excused myself and went over to say hello. He, trying to be nice, said “why don’t you go dancing next Saturday with someone who knows how to shag” I of course accepted and we have been dancing through life together ever since. Our children: Kim M Wade (Roberts) 1983
Gerald F Wade, Jr (Jay) 1985
Barbara J Wade (Buffi)

Lorice Adry McMahon ’61 and Sidney McMahon ’60: The year was 1959. It was close to the end of lunch time, and Sidney was on the visitors side. I pranced my nervous self over there, and asked him to Sadie Hawkins. We dated for 7 years.
We were married at St. Patrick,’s Catholic Church by his cousin, Fr. Thomas Duffy. We were married for 43 wonderful years.
We have four beautiful, successful children:
Dr. Marla McMahon. 1987. (Twins Andrew and Adry Simmons. Class of 2022)
Angela M. Googer. 1990
Alan G. McMahon. 1994
Maureen M. Richberg. 1997

Claire O’Driscoll Comar ’61 and James Comar ’61: James and I started dating the summer after the 8th grade. Our favorite thing was walking to the Sunday afternoon movies. We dated for eight years before getting married. During that time we went through a lot of growing up. Both of us changed in many ways but fortunately in the same direction. Now we have been married for 54 years. Not always easy years but always wanted to stay together. Amen.

James Owens ’67 and Susan Moorer Owens (+) ’67: “We met Sophomore year dance at the Knights of Columbus. Susan waived for me to meet her and her good friend Cathy under the disco ball. Music was so loud that we three were touching shoulders. Susan said James I think you need to date Cathy. I turned to her and said no I’d rather date you. With that Kathy ran off crying and Susan and I dance the next song. It was a slow song and we were so close that you could not have gotten a piece of paper between us. At the time I was to discerning to become a Roman Catholic Priest. Obviously after 54 years together, 49 years married that vocation went out the window. We’ve had a wonderful life together and unfortunately Susan died October 30, 2020.
All I have now is very happy memories of those 54 years together. It was a match made in heaven.”

Patty Grisillo Smith ’69 and David Smith ’69: We have celebrated 46 years of love, life, and laughter together. Never so fine as ’69! God Bless BE!

Jack McElwee ’71 & Denise Downs McElwee ’71: “We went to Nativity school but did not start dating until junior year at BE. We met at lunch in the gymnasium and started a long relationship from then on. I went to The Citadel and she decided not to go off to school because of me. When I graduated, the Vietnam war had just ended. I decided not to go into the service and so we married in 1975 and began to start our family.
We will be celebrating our 50th reunion at BE this year.” We have two children, Johnny and Allison.

Maureen Sullivan Bolchoz (+) ’73 and J. Manning Bolchoz ’73: Maureen and I went to school together from kindergarten through a year at Clemson. In high school we lived four doors down from each other. We went steady in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades and had our first kiss in the 6th grade at the school bazaar. We snuck off and went behind the white maintenance shed that was behind the old Stella Maris/Christ Our King Church. In the 8th grade we went to see the ‘Boston Strangler’ on King Street, and she broke up with me before the movie started because some of her friends told her she would find someone better in high school. Then she wanted to hold my hand during the movie. My version of the story is that she came begging back to me our junior year at BEHS after not finding someone better. We still have jewelry that we gave each other in both grammar and high school. Maureen and I dated on and off throughout our time at BEHS (mostly on it seems) and eventually discovered that we made a pretty good team together. We thoroughly enjoyed our time at BEHS and were both actively involved in all aspects of high school life. We were married 10 days after I graduated from West Point in 1978 and spent the next 27 years building a family and travelling the world courtesy of the US Army. We settled down in Tampa, FL after Army life and stayed there until we returned home to Mt Pleasant in 2016. Maureen and I have three sons who are happily building their lives and families of their own. We were very happily married for almost 42 years until Maureen passed away in 2020.

Kathleen Blanchard Smith ’76 and Greg Smith ’76: We met while we were at Blessed Sacrament School. Greg and I dated once during our freshman year, twice during our sophomore year and then from junior year on. We went to the College of Charleston and graduated together in 1980. We will celebrate our forty year anniversary this May. We have two children, Gregory Lawrence Smith 2003 Catherine Ann Smith 2005.

Peter Loy ’83 and Elizabeth Griffith Loy ’83: We dated on and off our junior year at BEHS. We began dating seriously at the end of our junior year. We didn’t date in college but would run into each other. We ran into each other at a Rainbow’s baseball game in the summer of 1986. We began dating and got married in 1989. Peter We have two boys, Michael Loy and Joseph Griffith “Griffie” Loy 2013.

Kathy Owens Grisillo ’83 and John Grisillo ’83 / Theresa Forsberg Bolchoz ’84 and Michael Bolchoz ’84: All four of us were friends during our time at Bishop England. We double dated then and we still double date now!

Barbara Cummins Michel ’84 and John “Jay” Michel, IV ’84: We met in the fall of 1980 in the freshman building. I was very shy & didn’t know a soul there. I made friends fast, and Jay was one of them. He was very funny and once got me into trouble in class. We were supposed to be doing our work quietly while the teacher was helping other students. He took a magazine picture that had a close up photo of a smiling girl. He cut out her teeth in the photo, stuck his tongue through the back of the picture (It looked like the girl was sticking out her tongue), then quietly called my name. I laughed hysterically and couldn’t stop. No, I didn’t tell on him, but I did have detention one afternoon. Through our freshman & sophomore year we were good friends. He was a lot of fun to be around.
During our Junior year, things started to change a little. He flirted with me, but I always thought he was joking. He played it off as a joke very well. We still went on outings with friend groups, but it was only as friends. Then he called me and asked if I’d like to go tho Charlestowne Landing with a group of friends. He came to pick me up, but it was just him. Although I didn’t know it at that moment, this was our first date. We met some friends & had a great time. He made me laugh, and he was also easy to talk with. The next day we went for a walk on the beach. He looked at me and said, “Barbara, I really like you, and was wondering if you would be my girlfriend.” He was shuffling his feet in the sand while talking. Then look me. I told him I liked him too, and I would like to be his girlfriend. Then he leaned in and gave me a kiss. That was our 2nd date.
We had a good time in high school during our final years at BE and have lots of fond memories of that special place. As we dated during our college years, He later told me,”The first time I saw you in our freshman year, I said I’m gonna marry her.” We developed a good friendship during our time at BE, and it grew into us falling for each other. We were married 5 years after graduating from BE and have been happily married for 31 years. We have 3 sons. We’re still good friends and laugh together. God has truly blessed me with my true love who is my best friend. Thank you Bishop England for bringing us together.
Our school photo is our senior year homecoming dance. We have three sons, Patrick Michel Class of 2012, C.J. Michel Class of 2014 and Charlie Michel Class of 2020.

Robby Clair ’86 and Angela Cantey Clair ’86: Robby and I were always friends at BE.
We were in the same home room all four years. Robby asked me to be his homecoming sponsor our senior year, and our first date was homecoming dance. We had been at dances together with the same groups of friends. What I loved about him was he was always on the dance floor. We had so much fun dancing in the old BE gym downtown. We also went to prom together. Both Our families were big into BE. Robby played football for my daddy and Robby’s dad was president of BBB. Both our parents and all our siblings, aunts and uncles graduated from BE. Our love for BE was magnified when our kids attended BE and played football and lacrosse at Jack Cantey stadium (my daddy). Our journey together began at BE continued to Clemson and now we are full circle back at BE with our kids. Thank you for the love and memories. Not sure if this girl from Mount Pleasant would have ever met this boy from west Ashley if not for our beloved school. We have three children, William class of 2018, Sullivan class of 2020 and Meredith class of 2023.

Kieran Wray Kramer ’81 and Chuck Kramer ’83: I knew Chuck from afar at BEHS because he was a good friend of my sister Devon’s. I even drove them to a birthday party once. They graduated together in 1983. When I was working up in Washington, DC, in 1986, Devon used to tell me to go visit Chuck at the Naval Academy. So one day in the summer of 1987 I was in Annapolis and finally tried to look him up, but he’d already graduated. It so happened we both moved back to Charleston. He was assigned to the USS Wainwright as an ensign. Devon invited us both to dinner to welcome us home, and that was that!

David Michel ’90 and Kathryn LaBoone Michel ’90: “We met Junior year during Chemistry and Ms. Trapp’s History Class. We were friends first and then started dating the end of our junior year. On our first date we went to Pizza Hut and David used a coupon!” We have two sons, John 2018 and Matthew 2021.

Emmaly George Mabry and Brian Mabry ’99: Our story started back in the end of my Freshman year and the end of his sophomore year but we did not know this until later on. We got to know and fall for each other the end of my junior year and his senior year. Neither of us had dated anyone else before each other so we knew that God had wanted us to be together. An example of this is back to the beginning of the story when we were both a freshman and a sophomore, one night night when we were dating we were looking at each other’s driver’s license for some reason and I said wait a second your license said that it was issued on the same day as mine. He looked at me and started laughing, I said why are you laughing he said your the girl that came in the DMV screaming I finally passed. We had a good laugh knowing it would be a great story to tell people that actually met first at the DMV. We dated for a year and half before my mother’s cancer came back for the fifth or sixth time. I was scared and afraid but something about having Brian around calmed me down and relaxed me. We knew that we were meant for each other and that God had brought us together to be one so on June 22, 2021 we will be married 19 years. Unfortunately I lost my mom in 2007 but I am so glad that Brian was the man walking with me through the journey because I think it helps when you have a great support system. We have the best daughter that anyone could ask for. She is well loved. Her and her dad have an awesome relationship especially for a teenager. High school sweetheart relationships do happen and they can last.

Bayne Harvey Ritter ’99 and Tony Ritter ’98: Tony and I met in high school, however being in separate grades we did not know each other well. After finishing my freshman year of college, I came home the summer of 2000 and went downtown with some of my close BE girlfriends. We happened to run into Tony and a group of his BE friends. We spent a lot of time getting to know each other that summer including our first date to California Dreaming.
We were married December 8, 2007 and have been blessed with two daughters, Caroline and Evie. Bishop England is such a special place to both Tony and I and we look forward to passing along that tradition to our girls.

Katherine Dantzler Horner ’09 and Braxton Horner ’09: Braxton and I were in the same class at Bishop England and had a few classes together, but really didn’t know each other. We had even been in the same “prom group” junior year…just with different dates. After going to different colleges, we ran into each other back in Charleston and that was it! Had we not met at Bishop England, I don’t think we’d be where we are today—married almost 3 years with a great friend group (also mostly former Bishops)!

Ashleigh Baker Burr ’09 and William Burr ’09: We met on the first day of eighth grade at Summerville Catholic School. William says it was love at first sight for him and he asked me out just a few weeks later. I wasn’t so sure and turned him down, but we became best friends. No one had ever made me laugh like he did. Two years later, we were sophomores at Bishop England and we were inseparable. We walked to class together, sat at lunch together and I drove him home from school sometimes. I had turned him down several more times by then, but I suggested maybe he try to ask me out just one more time. The rest is history! We grew up together and now have two beautiful children of our own! We’ve had our ups and downs for sure, but we’ve always fought for each other. Almost 15 years later, our relationship is stronger than ever and we are truly thankful for the special memories we have from Bishop England High School!

Megan LaTorre McManus ’12 and Joseph McManus, Jr. ’12: Although we both attended BE all four years and I was even friends and basketball teammates with Joseph’s younger sister (who I thought was an only child at the time), our paths didn’t cross until the very beginning of our senior year. We met for the first time in Mrs. Johnson’s Honors Ceramics class in August of 2011. We were assigned seats across from each other at the same table. Once we introduced ourselves and started talking, the conversations never stopped (I eventually found out he had 5 other siblings and his younger sister was, in fact, not an only child)! Despite all the talking, it turns out we were both pretty good at ceramics as we both ended up winning an award for our ceramic pieces at the Coastal Carolina Fair! We started dating and became “official” October 26, 2011. The rest is history! We’ve been each other’s “high school sweet heart” ever since and got married October 20, 2018.