The Inter-Mountain photo by Taylor McKinnie Members of the Randolph County Senior Center’s bridge club all hold playing cards as Cary Hopwood, center, presents their monetary gift to the center’s Fiscal Officer Sharon Rockwell, right. The group was joined by Jane Lawson's grandaughter, Erin Dettinger, at left.

ELKINS – The Randolph County Senior Center’s bridge club donated a monetary gift to the center in honor of a club member who recently passed away.

On April 10, during a ceremony at the Senior Center, 10 members of the bridge club presented a check for $350 to the center’s Fiscal Officer Sharon Rockwell in honor of Jane Lawson, a fellow bridge club member who passed in January.

“We would like to see this money used for activities here at the Senior Center,” Cary Hopwood, a club member and the ceremony’s organizer, told Rockwell during the check presentation. “We know the Senior Centers had trouble keeping a good coffee pot, so we were hoping you could buy a good, fun coffee maker to start with… So, we present the Senior Center with a gift of $350 in honor of Miss Jane.”

Rockwell thanked the group and jokingly asked if they would prefer an expresso or cappuccino maker, to which one club member commented, “Neither one! Just regular coffee.”

Among the attendees was Lawson’s granddaughter, Erin Dettinger, who thanked the group for holding the “meaningful” ceremony in honor of her “Poppy Jane” and read a statement from her and her family. The statement said it meant so much to her family to know that the Randolph County Senior Center, which Dettinger said was one of Lawson’s favorite places, was being supported in Lawson’s memory. Dettinger also spoke about how much bridge and playing with her fellow club members meant to Lawson.

“If you knew my Poppy, you knew that bridge was not just a game for her, it was practically a competitive sport,” Dettinger said, earning a laugh from the group. “She loved it, she talked about it, strategized about and I am fairly certain she replayed hands in her head long after the cards were put away. If she ever lost, well, let’s just say she had some very thoughtful feedback about the game could have gone differently, but what made it so special wasn’t just the game. It was the people. The friendships she built here meant everything to her. She found joy in the laughter, the conversations and the simple rhythm of showing up, being known and being a part of something.”

“Knowing that others have given in her honor to support this center, a place that gave her so much joy, is incredibly special to us. It feels like a continuation of what she loved most: community, connection and a good game of bridge. We imagine that if she were here today, she would be smiling and asking, ‘Who’s ready for the next hand?'”

The group and Dettinger swapped stories about Lawson, sharing laughter and some tears at the memories. The club members then went on to play bridge.