The Assembly holds its117th ball Dec.20 at theColumbia Marriot

Lilla Wyman Theus

The Assembly held its 117th annual ball Tuesday, December 20, 2005, at eight o’clock in the evening in the ballroom of the Columbia Marriott. Guests were received by Mrs. William Perry Cate, president, and Mr. Cate; Mrs. George Henry Bunch III, president–elect, and Mr. Bunch; and the debutante daughters and granddaughters of the members.

The debutante daughters and granddaughters of the members were Lilla Wyman Theus, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Harrison Theus, escorted by Mr. Ansel Claiborne Bunch Jr.; Nina McClenaghan Knowlton, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Yates Knowlton, escorted by Mr. Gary Tusten Pope Jr.; Sarah Simons Dunbar, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Russel Reed Dunbar, escorted by Mr. William Creighton Forrest; Katherine Stewart Bristow, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Walter James Bristow III, escorted by Mr. Robert Hall McWilliams Jr.; Raven Lewis Tarpley, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Harold Tarpley, escorted by Mr. Clint Wallace; Laura Stevens Williams, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David Orion Williams, escorted by Mr. William Cliff Moore IV; Asta Rose Repenning, granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Lawrence Nettles, escorted by James Andrew Daniel; Frances Selby Faucher, granddaughter of Mrs. Charles Wilson Knowlton and the late Mr. Knowlton, escorted by Mr. Gregory Knowlton Faucher; Alden Elizabeth Knowlton, granddaughter of Mrs. Charles Wilson Knowlton and the late Mr. Knowlton, escorted by Mr. Belton Townsend Zeigler Jr.; Caroline Fisher Dana, granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Johnstone Dana Jr., escorted by Mr. Claude Townsend Prevost III; Meredith Lee Clewe, granddaughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. William Frederick Clewe, escorted by Mr. Clayton Sharpe Lovelace; Ann Stelling Pope, granddaughter of Mrs.Thomas Harrington Pope Jr., and the late Mr. Pope, escorted by Robert Carswell Parsley.

Nina McClenaghan Knowlton

The traditional debutante figure was led by Lilla Wyman Theus and Mr. Ansel Claiborne Bunch Jr., senior leaders, and Nina McClenaghan Knowlton and Mr. James Bentham Walker McKay, junior leaders.

Sons and grandsons attending their first Assembly Ball were James Bentham Walker McKay, son of Mr. and Mrs. Bentham Walker McKay; Wylie Westmoreland Clarkson, grandson of Mrs. Nathaniel Heyward Clarkson and the late Mr. Clarkson, and Gregory Knowlton Faucher, grandson of Mrs. Charles Wilson Knowlton and the late Mr. Knowlton.

Sarah Simons Dunbar

Guest debutantes attending The Assembly were Evelyn Wells Bowers, escorted by Mr. Danner Owens Walker; Claiborne Macdonald Fant, escorted by Mr. John Shelton Hodges; Elizabeth Gaines Gray, escorted by Mr. James Cranston Gray III; Sarah Elizabeth Griffin, escorted by Mr. James Hedden Murtiashaw; Nancy Landrum Johnston, escorted by Larkin Barmore Ellzey; Ida Dargan McMaster, escorted by William Gourdin McMaster Jr.; Ann Sheldon Paschal, escorted by Mr. William Blake Bearman; Mary Ann Buchanan Powell, escorted by Mr. Barkley Doty Wolfe; and Alice Emory Trouche, escorted by Tatum Zeigler Flynn.

The brides and bridegrooms attending The Assembly were Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel Heyward Clarkson IV, Dr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Clayton Kotz, Mr. and Mrs. John Walker Milliken, and Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Mack Tucker Jr.

Asta Rose Repenning

Out of town guests included Lt. Col. and Mrs. William Frederick Clewe III, of Monument, Colorado; Mr. and Mr. Frank Johnstone Dana III, of Greenville; Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wilson Knowlton Jr. of Mt. Pleasant; Mrs. Mildred Knowlton Faucher of Jacksonville, Florida, escorted by Mr. Allen Smith Guignard; Mr. and Mrs. Robert Keith Harris of Mt. Pleasant; Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Charles Repenning of Mechanicsville, Maryland; Dr. and Mrs. Perry Edwin Trouche of Charleston; Ms. Raven McCrory Wallace of Ann Arbor, Michigan, escorted by Mr. Thorne Compton; Mr. David Manning Williams of Spartanburg; and Amanda Catherine Coney of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Mr. and Mrs. William Jenkins Williamson Jr. of Athens, Georgia;

Joining Mr. and Mrs. Cate at the president’s table for dinner were members of the executive board and their husbands: Mr. and Mrs. Angus Bird LaFaye, Mr. and Mrs. George Henry Bunch III, Mr. and Mrs. Julian Bonham Shand Jr., Mr. and Mrs. John Kershaw deLoach III, Dr. and Mrs. Walter James Bristow III, Mr. and Mrs. William Harrison Theus, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Otto Milliken, Mr. and Mrs. John Bell Caskey, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Weaver Roth III, Mr. and Mrs. John Heslep Moorman, Mr. and Mrs. Richard George Hepfer, Mr. and Mrs. Francis William LaMotte Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Douglas McKay, III, Mr. and Mrs. John Donald Dial Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Sewall Oliver Hines, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Duffy Jones, Mr. and Mrs. John Mattison Mahon Jr., and Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Marshall Falls.

Frances Selby Faucher

Dick Goodwin and his orchestra provided music for dancing and the debutante figure with Mr. Joseph Duffy Jones announcing the debutantes.

Following dinner, coffee was served from The Assembly’s antique coffee service by Mrs. Nathaniel Heyward Clarkson, Mrs. Garden Stuart Clarkson, Mrs. Julius Walker McKay, Mrs. Wyndham Meredith Manning, Mrs. John Roberts Turner Major, and Mrs. Marvin Lowry McCrory.

The floor/dinner committee members were John Bell Caskey, John Donald Dial Jr., Thomas Bryant Edmunds, Ronald Marshall Falls, Francis William LaMotte Jr., John Mattison Mahon Jr., Thomas Otto Milliken, Walter Weaver Roth III, and Julian Bonham Shand, Jr.

Alden Elizabeth Knowlton

Katherine Stewart Bristow Raven Lewis Tarpley Laura Stevens Williams Caroline Fisher Dana Meredith Lee Clewe Ann Stelling Pope