The following members of our congregation are serving their Church by giving their time
and talents to the governance of the Church by serving on our Vestry.
Carol Ann "Deedie" Phillips Marshall, Rector
Born in Orangeburg, SC, she attended schools there
and in Atlanta, and, after two years at Erskine College, graduated from
USC-Columbia with a degree in French Language and Literature. She taught French in secondary school and then
worked in the Admissions Office at USC.
She began exploring the ordination process at St.
John’s Church, Columbia in 1992 with the support of Bishop Beckham. After a year at Lutheran Southern Seminary,
she completed training for the priesthood at Sewanee School of Theology and was
ordained as Deacon in June 1999 by Bishop Henderson. She has served as deacon in charge of
Christian Formation and Pastoral Care at St. Francis, Chapin and St, Martin’s
in the Fields, Columbia; as assistant to the chaplain at Still Hopes Episcopal
Retirement Community and as Chaplain Resident at Arkansas University Medical
Center and Deacon at St. Margaret’s, Little Rock, AR. She completed additional training in clinical
pastoral education at Palmetto Richland and Palmetto Baptist Hospitals and at
University of Arkansas Hospital in Little Rock.
After returning to Columbia from Little Rock, she
served three years as pastoral assistant at St. Albans, Lexington, before being
sent by Bishop Henderson as Deacon and
later priest-in-charge to Christ Church,
Lancaster, in September 2006. She was
ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Henderson in October 2006 and elected as
10th rector of Christ Church in November 2007.
Deedie has also served the Diocese in many
positions and currently is on the Diocesan Executive Council (elected 2007)
where she chairs the Commission on Convocations and serves on the Planning
Committee for the election of the new bishop and as coordinator of the
Community of Hope Pastoral Ministry. She
teaches in the School for Ministry.
The Rev Carol Anne Phillips Marshall married David Scott Phillips in 1972 (two sons: D. Scott Phillips, Jr. and Benjamin A. Phillips). David Phillips was killed in a hunting accident, 1993. She married Bruce Marshall in June 2007.
Sid Bryson, Senior Warden
Sid was born in Clinton, South Carolina. He has a Bachelors degree in Chemistry
from Erskine College and a Doctorate in Medical Dentistry from the Medical
University of South Carolina.
Sid's dental practice is in Walhalla.
His wife is Theresa Bryson.
Sid joined Church of the Ascension in 1995 and has served two terms on the Vestry.
Leila Walker, Junior Warden
Leila is a native of Columbia, SC. After several years in Georgia she moved with her family to Seneca in 1970. She was confirmed at the Church of the Ascension on Ascension Day, 1980. Leila has been a faithful member of the Choir since joining the Church and also serves on the Altar Guild. She was elected to the Vestry in 2007.
Leila is the mother of six: two sons and four daughters, grandmother of ten and great-grandmother of two. She retired in 2000 after 22 years with the Army ROTC Department at Clemson University.
Al Belauskas, Clerk of the Vestry
Connie Spencer, Treasurer
Robbie Grider, Bookkeeper
Donnie Davenport
Donnie has been a member of the Episcopal Church for 36 years and a member at Ascension 25 years. Married to Linda for 44 years they are parents of two sons, Dwayne and Jerry.
Donnie completed studies in “Tool and Die Design” accordance with the North Carolina State Apprenticeship Council. He worked as a tool engineer /cost estimator for 40 years, engaged in design, purchases of injection molds, and estimating the cost of molded components.
At Ascension, he served on the vestry holding the offices of Junior Warden, Senior Warden, and served on Ascension’s Finance Committee and currently servicing on The Outreach Committee. He has represented Ascension at Diocesan Convention on numerous occasions.
On the diocesan level, Donnie worked with Tony Watkins to bring The Healthy Church Initiative program to Ascension. He currently serves on the diocesan Committee on Property and Insurance. He just completed serving on the Bishop Search Committee. “This is one of the high lights of my service to our diocese.”
Locally he serves the community through volunteer work with the Oconee County chapter of Habitat for Humanity and Senior Solutions, Seneca.
Tom Davies
Tom has been a member of the Episcopal Church since childhood. Born and raised in Pennsylvania. Graduated from Penn State with a degree in Labor-Management. He accepted a position with the Bell Telephone Company, now known as Verizon. He worked in many communities around the state and finished his career in Delaware. During the working years, Tom served multiple terms on multiple Vestries.
He retired in 1991 and moved to Keowee Key. There he served on the Board of Directors, was President of the Utility Services, and President of the Mens Golf Association.
Tom is married, and they have three children and seven grandchildren. Tom's wife is an active nurse at Oconee Medical Center.
Marty Gallimore
Marty and Wayne Gallimore were high school sweethearts and were married while in college at the University of Tennessee. After graduating in 1970, they returned to Seneca where she was confirmed at Ascension almost 39-years ago at “the little white church,” where their four children were later baptized and confirmed.
Marty’s and Wayne’s children grew up at Ascension and Jim Neill was the celebrant at the weddings of their two daughters. Three of their six grandchildren are fourth generation Episcopalians.
Marty taught pre-school for nine years at Trinity Baptist Church and also taught a primary Sunday school class at Ascension for several years. She was in charge of the nursery program for many years. She has recently rotated off the Outreach Committee, and is a current member of the Christian Formation Committee and the Pastoral Care Committee. Marty is also an enthusiastic supporter of the Family Night Program. This is her last year on the vestry.
Lou Leffler
Lou was raised in upstate New York as “essentially” (ask him if you want details) a cradle Episcopalian. After becoming an electrical engineer at RPI in 1959 (now you know when the cradle years were), he went to work in New Jersey for the electricity sector in power plant and grid operations and later, critical infrastructure protection; he retired in 2006. His wife is Barbara. They have Heather (Jules is her husband), Jason (Jasmine is his wife, and daughter, Ariel), and Stewart (Diane is his wife, and daughter, Meghann).
They were part of the St. Mark’s Community in Mendham, NJ. Lou served on Vestry including Warden. He worked with the Acolytes, helped teach Sunday School, served as Lay Eucharistic Minister in the Diocese of Newark, was a delegate at Diocesan Conventions, facilitator for the Anti-racism program, and active in Cursillo.
“Now, here at Ascension, I love our Church Family and greatly enjoy participating in our Services and activities.”
Dee Mango
Dee was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA. After graduating from HS she went to Robert Morris Jr College for two years. She was a secretary for a law firm in the downtown area and then was an office manager for Sauerisen Cement Company that was involved in the Space Program providing different materials to NASA.
She is married to her husband Sam for 49 years. They have four children and six grandchildren. They moved to SC in 1989, and then she worked as office manager for OMC Wellness Center. On February 10, 2008 both she and Sam were Received into the Episcopal Church.
Peg Stutsman
Peg is a lifelong Episcopalian. She has a BS in Nursing from FSU and is married to Fred, a local CPA. Peg has two children (a son and daughter, both of whom live in Florida) and one grandchild. She is a case manager and works primarily out of her home, with driving around the upstate. At the church she is a lay Eucharistic visitor and a reader at the 8:00 service.
Ginger Tidman
Ginger and her husband Jay have moved from Pittsburgh to Greenville, SC, to Dallas, TX, to Atlanta
and finally to Seneca, where both are able to pursue their separate careers from home offices, enjoying the
freedom to work in the place where they plan to retire.
Currently EVP of Moore & Symons, a consultative marketing research firm, Ginger’s career spans more
than 35 years in advertising, marketing, and marketing research.
Since joining Ascension, she has been active on the Outreach Committee. As a greeter at Ascension she
hopes to continue the warm and welcoming tradition that makes Ascension a special place of worship and fellowship.
Harriette Wheeler
Harriette is a lifelong Episcopalian and has belonged to congregations from Massachusetts, Alaska, Arizona, and others before coming to South Carolina in late 1979. Clemson University brought them to SC after her late husband retired from the Air Force. Her Mother and Father also were members of Ascension having moved to be close to them in their final years.
She has served on the Outreach Committee and the Discernment Committee. She is currently serving on the Altar Guild and as Usher and Greeter.
Ellen Young
Ellen has been active in the Episcopal Church for
25 years. Before moving to South Carolina
she lived in Connecticut where she taught Sunday
School while their children were young and
later served on an adult education committee.
This committee organized several Alpha sessions.
Ellen had the opportunity to be a small group facilitator for three of the Alpha courses. During her
years in CT, she helped organize Prayer teams that ministered during the morning worship service.
Since coming to Ascension in 2004, she has been a member of the Good News Committee
and has helped facilitate a number of courses offered within the Family Night program.
Connie Murphy, Parish Administrator
Connie is a member of St. Paul's Catholic Church in Seneca. She is married to Tom; their son, Christopher,
attends Seneca Middle School. Connie and her family moved to Seneca from Ft. Myers, FL in 2004.
They love experiencing the four seasons, hiking the trails in the mountains, and boating on many lakes in the
area. Connie and Tom have started their own furniture woodworking business, specializing in bunk beds.
She enjoys the close friendly atmosphere at Ascension and is happy to be part of our family.