Published: December 21, 2007 01:55 pm         

Yonce, Cupler wedding

LAVALE — Stephanie Sincell Cupler of LaVale and William Scott Yonce, Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Navy Retired, of Arlington, Va., exchanged wedding vows on Sunday, Oct. 22, 2006, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Cumberland.

The bride is the daughter of the late John A. Cupler II and the late Margaret Durst Cupler of LaVale. The groom is the son of Gordon Victor Yonce Jr. and Rosa Hill Yonce of Fountain Inn, S.C., formerly of LaVale.

Amid an autumn-hued floral theme, the nuptials were celebrated in the sanctuary of the church at 4 p.m., with the Rev. Donald F. Sause officiating. Attendants were Matron of Honor Helen Mayo Leach of Dublin, Ohio, formerly of Cumberland and friend of the bride since high school, and Best Man, Capt. John W. Bookhultz, U.S. Navy-Retired, of Grottoes, Va., with whom the groom served a tour of duty. Serving as ushers were the groom’s son Scott Kiely Yonce of Jacksonville, Fla., his brothers-in-law Charles Gray of Mauldin, S.C., and Lawrence Broderick of Simpsonville, S.C., and the bride’s nephew, Zachary Cupler of Grantsville.

The bridal party was assisted at the church by friend of the bride and groom Sally Filler Fulton of Weyers Cave, Va. Friend of the bridal couple, Stanley Kriz of Fairfax, Va., lent his expertise as a videographer. Music for the ceremony was provided by organist Carol Duffus and by an 18-member chorus of the Cumberland Choral Society directed by Dr. Karen Soderberg-Sarnaker, with accompaniment by pianist Betty Jane Phillips.

Immediately following the ceremony, the bridal couple hosted a dinner reception with music for dancing by the Jim Roderick Quintet at the Cumberland Country Club. Friend of the bride Marilyn B. Adam of Cumberland and the groom’s daughter, Francoise E. Yonce of New York City, N.Y., each attended the guest register. Best Man Jack Bookhultz served as master of ceremonies, sharing toasts to the bride and groom with Matron of Honor Helen Leach.

A 1966 graduate of Allegany High School in Cumberland, Stephanie is also a 1970 graduate of The College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio, where she received a bachelor of arts degree with honors in speech. She became a certified professional secretary upon completion of the executive secretarial program at Katharine Gibbs School in New York City in 1971. Immediately thereafter, she joined her family’s micro-precision machine-tool manufacturing business, National Jet Company, in LaVale.

Moving to Dallas, Texas, in 1972, she was employed as an executive secretary by Trammell Crow Company, then by Gardner-Denver Corporation, at their respective corporate headquarters, and subsequently by Electronic Data Systems as the editor of computer-based instruction and project coordinator in the Corporate Education Department. Since returning to Maryland in 1983, the bride has been active in several non-profit and other civic organizations, holding office in and/or serving on the boards of the former Memorial Hospital Auxiliary in Cumberland, the Maryland Salem Children’s Trust near Grantsville, Cresap Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution in Cumberland, the Maryland State Society Daughters of the American Revolution, the Cumberland Music and Arts Club, The Council of the Alleghenies, and the Cumberland Choral Society. Stephanie also sings with the Sanctuary Choir at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Cumberland.

A Class of 1966 graduate of Allegany High School, Scott earned a bachelor of arts degree in economics in 1970 from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in Blacksburg, Va., where he was a member of the Corps of Cadets. He then was commissioned in the U.S. Navy in 1971 and served as a naval flight officer based first at Barber’s Point, Hawaii, and subsequently in Albany, N.Y. Thereafter, he flew the S-3A Viking from the aircraft carriers USS America and John F. Kennedy, and served aboard the USS Independence. He retired from the Navy in 1992 after a 21-year career. Following his retirement, he earned a bachelor of science degree in accounting, graduating in 1994 from George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. Scott was employed as an accountant by Legislative Demographic Services and subsequently by the American Bar Association in Washington, D.C. He retired in September 2006 from the headquarters of the Landmine Survivors Network, an international non-profit organization based in Washington, which named him 2006 Employee of the Year. In the time since the wedding, Scott has become a member of the LaVale Lions Club, the Board of Directors of the Potomac Council of the Boy Scouts of America, and the Sanctuary Choir at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church.

The newly-wed Yonces flew to Oahu, Hawaii, where they spent a 10-day honeymoon, and have since established their home in LaVale.