Today was a great day at Glynn County Animal Services and the Humane Society of South Coastal Georgia. The Raymond and Elizabeth Baumel and Abernathy Fund for Animal Welfare granted over $2,600 to both entities.
This endowed fund annually provides for the care, feeding, medical attention and sheltering of stray and unwanted dogs due to the forethought of Raymond and Elizabeth Baumel.
This is their story:
For forty years as owner of Sadye's, with locations first in downtown Brunswick and later on St. Simons Island, Raymond Baumel helped to advise and clothe local fashionable women. To them he was the arbiter of good taste, quiet elegance, and style. Many also fondly remember his wife Elizabeth "Billie" Cowen Baumel, with whom he traveled the world in the hunt for the perfect new styles and jewelry to bring back to the women of the Golden Isles. Also remembered was a succession of "Abernathy" Yorkshire Terriers - each one, in his time, a permanent fixture at Raymond's feet by his desk at the store.
In Raymond's generosity, he always reached out to those who needed a hand up. He had a special place in his heart, however, for abandoned or abused dogs. When Raymond died he sought through his estate to provide for "dog" welfare here in coastal Georgia for generations to come. He established the Raymond & Elizabeth Baumel and Abernathy Fund for Animal Welfare, an endowed fund at the Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation. In doing so the Baumels have created a lasting legacy as well as a permanent income stream for the care and sheltering of stray and unwanted dogs.