Sussex Tech Class of 1995 honors Priscilla Saez

About five years ago, Donna Coverdale and Priscilla Saez were working together at H.O. Brittingham Elementary School in Milton when they realized their 20-year high school reunion was quickly approaching.

During a lunch break at work, the two ladies chatted about getting everyone together for the reunion, an event Saez said her friend should plan. Coverdale didn't give it too much thought at the time, but since Saez's tragic death in June 2013, in which her husband Eduardo Saez was also killed in a car crash in Milford, Coverdale kept replaying that lunch conversation.

Coverdale knew she had to do something special to honor Priscilla's memory, and follow-through on her friend's request to get the old classmates back together. For months, Coverdale and classmates planned a small celebration, in which they also organized a special donation to pay tribute to Priscilla's memory through one of her favorite pastimes: Books for the library in loving memory of their late friend.

“She was an avid reader,” said Melva Smock, Priscilla's older sister. “I think she would have been honored.”

A group of Sussex Tech High School Class of 1995 members gathered at Georgia House in Milford for the Lady Raven Luncheon Aug. 8. They were joined by Priscilla's daughter, Shanel Dickens, her sister, Melva Smock, and her mother, Melva Whaley, in presenting a book donation to H.O. Brittingham's library manager Bevelene Holloman. The donation included more than two dozen paperback chapter books with a dedication in loving memory of Priscilla Saez.