There’s just something about Rivermoore Park.  As every reader of Stroll Rivermoore Park knows, Rivermoore is unparalleled in our area, and maybe any area, as a great place to raise a family. But Rivermoore also seems to attract multiple branches of the same family tree.  By our count, there are at least five families in Rivermoore whose members own multiple homes in Rivermoore.  Our featured family this month has three branches of its family tree residing in Rivermoore, Tom and Joyce Upchurch, parents to sisters Nancy Blair Ariano and Donna Clayton (formerly Nancy Blair and Donna Upchurch), and their families. Together, they have lived almost seventy years combined in the neighborhood, living by a simple motto, “always have dinner together.”

 

The Arianos were the first to move to Rivermoore in 1994. Nancy Blair and her husband Jay Ariano had just had their first child together in Richmond, VA, and wanted to live closer to the Upchurch family, originally from Oak Ridge, TN. While Nancy Blair and Jay were building their family here in Suwanee, Donna and Frank Clayton’s family was underway in North Carolina, where Frank was becoming Dr. Frank in dental school at the University of North Carolina.  

 

Donna and Frank had two small children at this time and thought it would be better for their family and more fun if they raised their family near Nancy Blair and Jay. After Frank graduated from dental school, they moved to Rivermoore, just a few years after the Arianos.  In retrospect, it is probably no surprise to anyone in the family that Nancy Blair and Donna would live in the same neighborhood.  They were married in a double wedding, so it’s only natural that they would want to “do life together,” too! Having Donna and Frank close by allowed Nancy Blair to pursue her dream of starting a business while raising young children.   The answer was “job sharing our children,” Nancy Blair shared with a smile.

 

Two years after Donna and Frank moved to Rivermoore, the Upchurches decided to relocate to Georgia from their native Tennessee as well.   Dr. Tom Upchurch was retiring from his medical practice as an otolaryngologist, also known as an ENT, and Joyce wanted to be closer to their grandchildren.  So they moved to Rivermoore at the first opportunity, of course.  

 

One piece of advice that Joyce Upchurch gave her girls was to “always have dinner together.” The dinner table brings families together, both physically and emotionally.  The dinner table is where issues large and small are discussed.  To this day, Nancy Blair and Donna follow this advice.  Most days, at least one of them hosts family dinner with their parents, Tom and Joyce, and often the dinner table gets pretty full.   To meet the occasion, Nancy Blair commissioned a special table to be built by a Suwanee-based, female-owned business, especially for their large family dinners.  This local business, the same business that made the tables for Suwanee’s own Still Fire Brewing, delivered a custom wood table to the Arianos that seats twenty-five people.  Twenty-five! The Claytons have a similar table in their home, so they can also host these massive family dinners as well.  However, Donna made the Claytons table herself.  Go, Donna! We’re sure that every member of the Upchurch, Ariano, and Clayton families would attribute the special bond their family has, at least in part, to the thousands of family dinners together.  

 

It is a beautiful thing to see a family whose favorite place to be is in each other’s company.  This sentiment has extended to the next generation as well.   Nancy Blair and Jay’s son, Thomas, has recently become engaged to fellow Suwanee native Delaney Yellott and they plan to settle in Suwanee as well!  Maybe Rivermoore will become home to a fourth branch of the family tree?  That remains to be seen, but it’s a guarantee that the new branches of the family will gather around a massive dining room table for family dinners.  

 

Thank you to the Upchurch, Ariano, and Clayton families for sharing your story with Stroll Rivermoore Park!