[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Pages 23432-23433]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO MARY PAPPEY

 Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, all of us in public life have been 
privileged to have very special people come into our public lives who 
dedicate their time, energy, and passion to helping us serve, but even 
among these special people, there are those who stand out. I am 
speaking today of just such a person--my friend, Mary Pappey. And I am 
speaking today because it is a special day for this special person--it 
is her 85th birthday.
  Mary has served on my staff in Boston since 1988, longer than just 
about anybody who has ever worked with me. It is often said that when 
God closes one door, He opens another. And that is how Mary came to us. 
She was a homemaker whose happy life was upended when her husband 
Nicholas passed away in 1988. To help fill the void, she asked if she 
could volunteer in our office a couple of days a week. And she has been 
there ever since.
  It is hard to remember a time that Mary hasn't been there in my 
Boston office, whether answering phones, handling mail, or just making 
sure everyone is OK doing whatever had to be done. She is an incredible 
mother to her children; in so many ways she has also been a mother to 
our Boston office family. And always, she has been a calming presence 
in what can be a hectic environment. It helps, too, that she bakes a 
mean baklava that can bring some needed sweetness to the most frenetic 
of work days.
  But that isn't all. Far from it. Mary has had a very special job in 
my Boston office. Since joining my staff, she has advanced all the 
applications we have received from students seeking appointments to the 
military service academies. She has made sure the applications are 
complete, all deadlines are met and, when necessary, held the hands of 
anxious applicants and even more anxious parents of applicants. For 21 
years, Mary has handled this job with special skills and sensitivities. 
And, in fact, she has shepherded through an entire generation of 
service academy appointees from Massachusetts.
  Mary's grandchildren, the joys of her life, call her ``Yaya,'' which 
is Greek for grandmother. I think we could all call her that, because 
she has been a kind of grandmother to all of us--someone who offers 
reassurance when it is needed, someone who puts her heart and soul into 
everything she does, someone to watch over all of us, with kindness and 
affection. I can't recall a time I didn't get a huge hug from Mary 
whenever I came by the office.
  I should also mention that Mary has a special way with words, or 
rather, with one word in particular the word ``dear.'' At some point, 
she has referred to everyone in the office as ``dear,'' especially when 
they are having a rough day. That is not surprising. But what is 
surprising is how, when she is helping with the phones, Mary often 
addresses the caller as ``dear.'' Again, that is not surprising, except 
when you consider that sometimes it is an anonymous caller, someone so 
frustrated by what they just saw on television or by the run around 
they are getting from Federal bureaucracies that can at times seem 
unreasonably cold, that they don't want to identify themselves. But it 
is hard for them to stay mad with Mary calling them ``dear.'' She 
brings out the very best in all of us.

[[Page 23433]]

  So, I want to thank ``dear'' Mary for her devotion to the people of 
Massachusetts, for all her years of service on my staff and for being 
such a wonderful, generous friend. And I especially want to wish 
``dear'' Mary all of my best and hope that this will be a very happy 
birthday.

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