Front row: Corrine Peeling, Collin Foster, Shauna Kelly,
Jackie Lozier. Middle row: Don Peeling; Eve Love, board
member Hospice of St. Mary’s; Nellie Horton; Kathy Franzen,
director Hospice of St. Mary’s. Back row: Rita Hayes; Marion
Hayes; Steve Evans, Sonic karaoke and DJ.

Nellie Horton’s 14th and final Karaoke for Hospice was one smashing success. The June 28 event raised $23,178.50. The largest amount ever. Hospice of St. Mary’s will apply the proceeds to the building fund for its Hospice House in Leonardtown.

Big contributors to the song-filled evening included Jackie Lozier, who ran the silent auction and raised $1,000. She sang “It’s My Party and I’ll Cry if I Want to.” Collin Foster, 8, from the Chesapeake Charter School, sang” Jealous Bones” and “Complicated.” Don Peeling, CEO of Eagle Systems, stole the show when he won the raffle and donated his 50 percent-winnings to hospice.

The fundraiser was dedicated to Horton’s son Mark Lee O’Connor, 40, who unexpectedly died of cardiac arrest in January. The size of the donation in O’Connor’s name will make him a legacy donor at Hospice of St. Mary’s, said Kathy Franzen, director.

“I just turned 65 and need to take time for some medical issues,” Horton said, explaining why this was her last year organizing the fundraiser. The hope is that someone will step up and take her place even though Horton’s shoes will be hard to fill.