A version of the following article appeared in the May 11, 2026, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.
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Nothing — not even Parkinson’s — was going to keep Andy Salisbury Sr. from his son’s wedding
Editor’s note: Freelance writer/editor Ken Garfield, a frequent contributor to The Ledger, first wrote about the Salisburys for Charlotte magazine in 2015.
Andy Salisbury Sr. watches and celebrates his son’s wedding from 160 miles away at Southminster retirement community. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease nearly 30 years ago. (Photo by Ken Garfield for The Ledger)
by Ken Garfield
Andy Salisbury attended his son’s wedding on Saturday, if not in body then in heart and soul.
A Charlotte lawyer who used to play rugby and ski downhill fast, Andy Sr. was 44 when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Today, 29 years later, he is 73. Credit his guts, his doctors’ expertise and the support of family and friends.
Chief, as he is known to many, lives at the Southminster retirement community in south Charlotte. The brain disorder has left him in a wheelchair, unable to talk. His warrior of a wife, Camille, has been beside him every step of this journey.
Now to Saturday’s wedding at Reid Memorial Presbyterian Church in Augusta, Ga. And at Southminster.
Andy Jr., the youngest of the two Salisbury kids, graduated from Charlotte Country Day School. He’s a lawyer in New York. His bride, Sarah Louise Boland, has worked in sales development. Their 5:00 wedding in the sanctuary of Sarah’s hometown church was, as Rev. Brandi Casto-Waters told the gathering, filled with love.
So, too, she said, was the room at Southminster where the father of the groom was taking it all in.
Unable to make the trip to Augusta, Andy Sr. “attended” the wedding via livestream.
With a dozen friends and longtime family helper Rosa Cornelius, he watched Andy Jr. walk his mom down the aisle, one of them smiling, the other teary. When the pastor asked who gave this bride away, Andy Jr. hugged his father-in-law-to-be. Back in Charlotte, Andy Sr. whispered, “I remember that part.” He watched his daughter (and bridesmaid), Sara, walk down the center aisle with Vivian in her arms — Sara’s daughter and Andy Sr.’s granddaughter. Among the groomsmen was Partha, Sara’s husband and Andy Sr.’s son-in-law.
“You may now kiss the bride”: Andy Salisbury Jr. and Sarah Louise Boland at the close of their wedding ceremony at Reid Memorial Presbyterian Church in Augusta, Ga. (Photo by Ken Garfield for The Ledger)
When it came time for the congregation in Augusta to recite The Lord’s Prayer, Andy Sr. whispered it along with them: “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name…”
Not even Parkinson’s could steal the words of his faith.
On the day his son was married, Andy Sr. wore a flower in his lapel. There was cold shrimp for the occasion. And champagne. And a toast, of course.
As the bride and groom marched out of the sanctuary to applause and then to the wedding reception, 160 miles away, the father of the groom smiled. Then wept.
Freelance writer/editor Ken Garfield is a frequent contributor to The Ledger. Reach Ken at [email protected].