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        Pat Conroy Recalled as Storyteller Who Touched Readers Worldwide

   by Associated Press

   Pat Conroy, author of works including "The Prince of Tides'' and "The
   Great Santini,'' was remembered Tuesday as a "marsh-haunted boy'' who
   battled sorrow and tragedy to create stories set on the South Carolina
   coast that enriched the lives of readers worldwide.
   "He was the best storyteller of our time and quite possibly of any
   time,'' longtime friend Alex Sanders, a former president of The College
   of Charleston, told nearly 1,200 people attending a funeral Mass. "A
   legion of readers all around the world were enchanted and hung on every
   word of his characters and the atmosphere of the South Carolina
   Lowcountry.''

   Conroy, who sold 20 million copies of his works, died last week at the
   age of 70 following a short battle with pancreatic cancer.
   He arrived in South Carolina with his family when he was 16 and his
   writings would subsequently reflect the vistas of the state's southern
   coast.
   "When he crossed the Whale Branch Bridge and glimpsed the tidal marshes
   of the Lowcountry, he was a marsh-haunted boy from that point on,''
   Sanders said. He said Conroy "took us to that magic and unique place on
   Earth.''
   Conroy's plain, unadorned wooden casket was brought into the sanctuary
   while a soloist sang "The Water is Wide,'' the name of another Conroy
   novel based on his experiences teaching impoverished children on nearby
   Daufuskie Island.
   The sanctuary, which seats 1,200, was nearly full and several hundred
   people had gathered an hour before the service. A bagpiper played as
   the casket was taken outside the church following the Mass. The burial
   was private.
   Conroy's life was marked by an often acrimonious relationship with his
   father. He also experienced the suicide of his youngest brother,
   divorce, depression, and health issues including diabetes and back
   surgery.
   "If Pat's family didn't have tragedy and sorrow - if Pat did not fight
   demons - his writings would never have been read,'' Monsignor Ronald
   Cellini said in his homily. "The beauty of Pat Conroy and his writing
   is truly a foretaste of the beauty we call heaven.''
   Before the service, a group of 30 members of the 2001 graduating class
   of The Citadel, Conroy's alma mater, gathered beneath trees shrouded
   with Spanish moss, each wearing a class ring.

   Conroy, who had been estranged from the state military college in
   Charleston for years after he wrote books based on his experiences
   there, later was reconciled with the school and invited to give the
   graduation address in 2001.
   During that address, Conroy invited members of the class to his
   funeral.
   "I want you to say this before you enter the church at which I'm going
   to be buried. You tell them, "I wear the ring,'' the author said at the
   time.
   Conroy is survived by his wife, Cassandra King; daughters Melissa,
   Jessica, Megan and Susannah Conroy; and five step-children: Emily
   Conroy, and Jason, James, Jake Ray, and Gregory Fleischer.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/pat-conroy-recalled-as-storyteller-who-touched-readers-worldwide/3226396.html