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Volunteer of the year honored at ceremony by Chris West Public Relations When dentist Felix Nepveux retired nearly 20 years ago, he gave up one set of ivories for another. Today his practice is with piano keys instead of cavities and fillings. Nepveux, a volunteer in the Recreation Therapy Department, is the recent recipient of the Ann D. Edwards Volunteer of the Year Award. He received the award June 7 at the North Charleston Convention Center after being nominated by Amy Parker, recreation therapy supervisor and also by the nursing staff of the rehab unit. Nepveux participates in actual therapy sessions. He plays piano in a devotional that the department puts on for patients. The devotional takes place in the Physical Rehabilitation Unit on Monday of every week. Nepveux has been volunteering in the unit for four and a half years and has become a staple figure for the patients there. “Over the years, Felix has demonstrated to be so valuable to the devotional and committed to the unit and my department. He proves he is compassionate and caring in volunteering his time to so many people going through hard times in their lives,” Parker said.  Nepveux received his BS from the College of Charleston and his DMD from the University of Louisville, Ky.  In December of 1946 he received active duty orders as an assistant dental surgeon in the Navy Reserve and regular Navy orders on March 5, 1947, where he practiced at Green Cove Springs, Fla. In September of 1948 he was attached to the Fleet Marine Force as a dentist with the Marines in Guam and in the China theatre where he was the only US Navy dental officer on the China coast. He was stationed aboard the USS Bayfield and the USS Chilton.  On May 31, 1949, he was assigned to the Third Marines, First Marine Force Battalion for duty at Camp Pendleton, Calif. With that battalion, he served in the Korean War, taking part in landings at Inchon and Pusan. In 1951 he was ordered to the dental department at the Naval Air Station Technical Training Center in Jacksonville, Fla. He remained there until further orders boarded him on the USS Tripoli. Nepveux resigned from the Navy in 1955, moved back to Charleston and set up a private dental practice in South Windermere where he remained until 1982 when he retired. When Nepveaux is not giving his time to “his patients,” he enjoys boating, watching sports, photography and spending time with his wife, Ethel, his son and daughter, Felix and Susan, and his seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Suzanne Banks of volunteer services created the Volunteer of the Year Award in 1990. It was named in honor of former MUSC first lady, Ann D. Edwards and was brought about to  “honor the person who best exemplifies volunteerism and its value to the university and hospitals,” Banks said. Edwards presented the award to Nepveux where he received a “Volunteer of the Year” embroidered jacket and a silver plate engraved with the title of the award.