Sue Crance lights up with a particular grace and warmth when discussing her love of vacationing on the Isle of Palms. What Sue affectionately refers to as “staycations” are a common occurrence for the entire Crance family. Sue explained a bit about her history of frequenting the island. “I moved to the area 34 years ago and my first beach trip was to the Isle of Palms. I fell in love with the island right away, in part because of the Windjammer. As a young adult, I found there to be no better way to spend my time on the island than on the beautiful beach lying out in the sand by the Windjammer, listening to the live music and playing volleyball.”
Sue and husband Dan, longtime Summerville residents, come to the island yearly for a family vacation as well as day tripping as often as they are able. She shared a few of the Crances’ favorite island activities. “We love renting bikes and just exploring the island. We love looking for fun places to listen to live music. We love to visit during Piccolo Spoleto to see the amazing sand sculptures created during the Sand Sculpting Contest. The artists are so talented, and the family-friendly venue is an atmosphere both Dan and I love and appreciate.”
With three children and 10 grandchildren, Dan and Sue have ample opportunity to share family time. Sue continued, “Our family has enjoyed several staycations on the IOP. When our children were still at home, we enjoyed staying at the Villages in Wild Dunes. On occasion, Dan and I wanted just adult time away, and enjoyed staying at the Boardwalk Inn for date weekends.”
When their son got married at Alhambra Hall in Mount Pleasant a few years ago, the decision to turn that time into a family reunion was simple. Sue remarked, “We love the Isle of Palms so much that we tied in a family reunion on the beach for the week following our son’s wedding. We had a total of three neighboring homes rented from Island Realty. Fifty-five of us gathered from all over the country to converge on the island just for our family reunion. Music was an integral part of our gathering, with the music created from three guitars, two fiddles, two harmonicas, one mandolin and a cello. We cooked and shared a lot of meals too; we made almost as much food as we did music! We had the best time.”
Lest we forget, the Crance family isn’t all about vacation and leisure time. Dan, who works as a mortgage broker for Classic Home Mortgage in Summerville, has been in the mortgage industry for 35 years. Sue serves as the operations manager for JAC Services, a commercial and residential HVAC company. Five-year-old Charlye, a foxhound boxer mix, is the lucky dog belonging to Sue and Dan. Charlye can be found just about every place the Crances are, including at the office with Sue most days.
Sue and Dan are devout parishioners at St. Theresa the Little Flower Catholic Church in Summerville. The Crances are actively involved in many ministries in their beloved parish where Dan was recently ordained as a permanent deacon.
Sue concluded, “The most wonderful thing about living so close to such a beautiful vacation spot is being able to pack the car and be on vacation in less than an hour. No air travel or long road trip. It’s a blessing to be able to see the ocean with such frequency. Once we pass over the IOP Connector, we are on vacation. It is like a switch is flipped. We truly cherish every moment we are fortunate enough to spend here.”
By Laura Fogarty
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