Help Joan leave Scruggs Harbor

This feels surreal to type out, but today is my family’s last day living at Scruggs Harbor. If you know me, you know this is where I grew up. These 6 cottages have been the backdrop to every stage of my life and a huge part of forming my identity. My grandmother Joan came here from Massachusetts in the mid 80’s to visit her sister and said “the only way I’d move to Florida is if I could live in a little beach house like that one” while pointing to a quaint 2 bedroom 1 bath cottage facing the Gulf of Mexico on their sunset walk one evening. Soon after, she found herself moving into that exact bungalow.

She worked out a deal with the owners to rent the house while fixing up the rest of the cottages and start a small boutique vacation rental business. She spent the next 35 years keeping all 6 cottages successfully filled with thousands of vacationers while also providing an authentic and loving small town beach atmosphere for everyone to enjoy. She lived and breathed this place. She’s even opened up the back room of her home to countless visitors who needed a place to stay when they had no other options. Joans impact is known by everyone who’s ever been in contact with her.

As for me, I had the second hand fortune of being raised here. It’s been the catalyst to endless friendships formed with bands, artists, and athletes. It’s the muse of my music and creative expression. I’m thankful for every second I’ve gotten here and it will always remain imprinted as one of the most formative places in my life. This change is coming abruptly and prematurely, but we are facing it head on and helping Joan return to the northeast for the remainder of the year. As an added and unexpected test, we’ve discovered that Joan has colon cancer which has soaked into her lymph nodes and moved to her liver. A very quick reminder that our perspective of what is important can change in an instant. With the owners going forward on their plans for the future, leaving this property suddenly feels insignificant in comparison to the importance of Joan’s health. Joan is in incredible spirits, she’s still strong, and recently had a successful surgery to remove the mass in her colon. We hope this gives her a new lease on life and allows us to focus on the future together as a family.

With all that being said, the combination of unforeseen circumstances from the past month have put Joan in a place of financial uncertainty. I’m starting a go fund me for her to aid in her medical bills and transition into starting a new life at 84. We all know Joan can do it, but any extra help will be appreciated more than I can explain in a social media post. If Joan has had any sort of impact in your life directly or not, consider this as a way to return some love! We love you Joan, it’s just another chapter of life right?