The Shelley A. Marshall Foundation

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Tea Party Sundale Nursing Home Morgantown, WV January 18, 2003 Menu Cucumber Sandwiches Egg Salad Sandwiches Smoked Turkey & Provolone Pinwheels Raisin Scones Hazelnut Scones Lemon Tarts English Shortbread Chocolate Walnut Brownies Rose Petal Congou Tea “Pai Mu Tan” White Tea Decaf Black Currant Tea

An excerpt from Donn Marshall's Welcome Speech: "Tea was always more than just a drink to Shelley. For Shelley, a perfectionist trapped in a world of hurry-up and good-enough, brewing the perfect cup of tea was almost a form of self-expression or self affirmation… it was about finding calm and focus at the end of a busy day… it was about bringing elegance and grace into your life every day.

Shelley also recognized that tea was not only for solitary reflection, but that - in a wonderfully subtle way - it drew people together. She recognized that people behaved differently over a cup of well-brewed loose leaf tea. Maybe it's the handpicked tea leaves… maybe it's the heat of the tea in the cup, like the heat of life, held between your hands… maybe it's the elegance and fragile beauty of the fine china… but people behave differently. People become more eloquent; the walls we erect to get through the day come down; there's an increased emphasis on courtesy; and friendships blossom quickly, like flowers in a hothouse.

Maybe we can take a bit of this tea with us into the world tomorrow? Shelley did. You may not recognize it, but you'll feel her spirit here today - I've felt her at every tea party we've had. You'll hear her laugh in the soft klink of the china, feel her warmth as you sip your tea, and know her friendship as you extend your friendship. Today, just a few weeks after the anniversary of September 11th, I want to dedicate this tea to Shelley. And because tea is so much about friendship, i'd also like to dedicate it to six friends of Shelley, six heroes who perished at her side that day at the Pentagon. Rosemary Chapa, Sandra Foster, Bob Hymel, Patti Mickley, Chuck Sabin, and Karl Teepe. These coworkers were friends to Shelley and to me, and I would like to honor them as well this day. And the best way we can honor them is to have tea, to talk and to laugh, to let new friendships begin and old friendships grow.

I have been looking forward to this tea. And I hope you enjoy it half as much as I will."