Corinne Diane Lord came into this world on February 1, 1951, and left it peacefully on April 22, 2025. She was primarily raised by an extended family to include a great-grandmother and grandmother. The foundation of her youth in Uphams Corner in Dorchester outside of Boston was firmly laid by her community. Her attendance at St. Kevin’s Elementary and Junior High and MRM Catholic School gave her a strong faith and even stronger will to succeed. She often spoke of the encouragement provided by the nuns in her parish and was thankful for their commitment. Corinne attended Franklin Pierce College in New Hampshire, earning both her bachelor’s and master’s.

It would not surprise you to know that Corinne’s younger days were full of rambunctious fun especially with her beloved St. Kevin’s Chips, Gems and Knights Drum and Bugle Corps. She had a gaggle of friends — Sissy, Cynthia, Eileen and Patty — and they roamed the neighborhood looking for adventures. This close friendship lasted for their entire lives and the sisterhood they created will always remain.

Corinne met Chris Bennett in 2002 and married in 2012. These two soulmates moved to South Carolina in 2010 bringing our “favorite Yankee” to the South. They lived in Lexington, and Corinne worked in various finance and accounting jobs while still teaching finance at Franklin Pierce. She loved her students and took their education very seriously, teaching for over 30 years.

She was a diehard fan of the Boston Patriots, later known as the New England Patriots, from the beginning and stayed with the team through thick and thin. She adopted the Gamecocks as her college team and cheered them like a born-and-bred South Carolinian. That was the only kind of fan she knew how to be — loyal.

She loved a good card game — especially cribbage — and won more than she lost. She was always eager to learn something new, whether it was hunting deer or shelling peas. She wasn’t a fan of eating Lowcountry boil off newspaper — “That’s not sanitary!” — but she gave it a try.

What Corinne is most known for is her smile and her joy for life. In these last years after Chris’ passing, Corinne chose to get out and live – and boy did she! Through groups like Coffee & Conversation, and Young at Heart and Martha Circle at St. David Lutheran Church, Corinne expanded her friend circle tenfold. She was always up for an adventure and delighted in the smallest miracles of life — a pretty rock in the river, a wave crashing on the beach, a fawn walking through the golf course. So many of us were privileged to share these moments with her. She always said she didn’t know how to act like an old lady and was just a kid at heart. May we all see the world through such a lens of wonder and awe.

Corinne was loved by so many. In this last year, they gave of their time and energy to help her on her journey. We did for her what she would have done for us. Special thanks to Bertha Abney for her tender care and all the caregivers at The Pines of Columbia.

A celebration with friends will be held at the Cayce Riverwalk Pavilion (entrance and parking at 201 Naples Ave.) on Tuesday, April 29 from 10 a.m. till the stories and the tears run dry. Put on your Southern spring finery and come share a memory of our favorite Yankee.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to South Carolina Wildlife Federation noting the POWR program (Palmetto Outdoor Women’s Retreat). Corinne attended this event several times and loved every minute of learning new things about the outdoors.

Memorial Keepers (1)

Bonita Aili Korpi