Crimora  Ayers

Larry and Crimora come to Westminster-Canterbury after several career moves. Larry is from South Carolina and Crimora is a native Virginian. They met in 1962 when Larry, a young USMC officer in Quantico, Virginia attended a mixer, hosted by Crimora, at Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg. A whirl wind romance followed with a wedding in November 1962. The wedding, a military affair, almost never took place.  You may recall that November of 1962 was the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Larry was given three days off to get married, but every time he selected groomsmen for the wedding, the Marine Corps shipped them out to sea to prepare for the crisis. Ultimately, enough men were rounded up to act as groomsmen so the wedding could go on, but several of the Marine groomsmen were almost complete strangers snatched from the ranks.                                                                             

After military service, Larry went into the financial field and worked with several firms, mostly with E.F. Hutton & Co, in Arlington, New York, Baltimore, Hilton Head Island and Greenville, South Carolina. He had his own investment advisory firm and was a certified financial planner. He spent the last couple of years before retirement helping a longtime friend with the promotion of The Woodlands at Furman, a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) on the campus of Furman University. It was a wonderful experience and provided a firsthand look at CCRC’s and their place in the senior living industry.         

Larry and Crimora have two children, six grandchildren and one great grandchild. Larry is a Furman University graduate (Greenville, SC), and after a visit to Greenville in 1998, they decided that was the place they wanted to be. It was a good decision as the area has become one of the most vibrant locales in the South. After 19 years in Greenville they, and family members, felt it was time to move closer to each other and WC was the place of choice.

During those early years, Crimora was busy rearing two kids and taking on several challenges. She has enjoyed having her own businesses – primarily in the interior design field and the complementary health care industry. She is a staunch believer in a more natural approach to healthcare. Painting has also been important to her. She picked up her first brush in 1963 and has been at it ever since. She primarily works in acrylics and specializes in landscapes and pets. She also enjoys gardening and over the past few years in Greenville, she landscaped, built and maintained two ponds with aquatic foliage and cascading waterfalls. She took up Golf at an early age and became quite good at it. She has played competitive golf in Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina, North Carolina and Florida. She still plays actively and beats Larry on a regular basis. The game continues to be enjoyed by both of them and their daughter, Heather Garnett. Heather is known to a number of WC residents for her work as the Alumni Director at the University of Lynchburg. She also served as alumnae director at Randolph College. Heather has recently taken up the game, after many years of inactivity, and enjoys being able to spend time on the course with her parents. They also have a son Greg and daughter-in-law, Jean, who are active boaters in Maryland. Greg is very talented and can do most anything. Jean currently is teaching clinical psychology at Washington College in Maryland.  

Larry has done volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity, church community projects and mentoring of students to  help them prepare for  college. Crimora has volunteered in church projects and activities. .   Larry died after a brief illness in 2021.