[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 23 (Friday, February 27, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S1890]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     IN HONOR OF RITA DOLAN SELLAR

 Mr. REED. Mr. President, on Tuesday, February 24, 2004, an 
extraordinary resident of Newport, RI celebrated a monumental 
achievement, her 100th birthday.
  Rita Dolan Sellar has led a full and exceptional life. She was born 
February 24, 1904, to Clarence Dolan and Rosalie Brown Dolan. She had 
two sisters, Rose and Alexandra.
  As a young lady, Rita attended Foxcroft School in Virginia, where she 
is now the oldest living alumna. Later she married Norrie Sellar, and 
they traveled extensively throughout the world.
  Rita and Norrie had five children: Daphne, Norrie, Rosalie, Owen, and 
Alexandra.
  Rita was an accomplished and bold horsewoman, who in the 1930s 
founded and played on the first women's polo team, in Aiken, SC, and 
rode in fox hunts, steeplechase races, and jumping contests.
  She was also an active sailor, who kept sailboats in Newport Harbor, 
and often sailed with her sister--one of America's first and most 
capable women sailors.
  Her home in Newport, ``Seaweed,'' has hosted five generations of the 
family, innumerable cheerful parties and dinners, and an extensive 
array of friends, cousins, in-laws, and visitors. She is the oldest 
member of Newport's Spouting Rock Beach Association.
  In addition to her 5 children, she has 15 grandchildren and 13 great-
grandchildren, as well as 3 step-grandchildren and 6 step-great-
grandchildren, of which she is the beloved, affectionate, and patient 
matriarch.
  Rita Dolan Sellar has led a successful and remarkable life as evident 
by her many achievements and, more importantly, her large, loving and 
successful family which includes former Rhode Island Attorney General 
Sheldon Whitehouse.
  I would like to congratulate Rita on her 100th birthday. This 
extraordinary moment is not about the number of years she has lived but 
the accomplishments she has made during those years and the excitement, 
pride, love, and joy she has brought to her many family and friends 
through her life. I wish Rita a happy birthday and many more.

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