"Dirt poor"
is how Harry Shedd describes his childhood - literally. He grew up in
Phoenix, Arizona during the Depression in a one room house with a dirt
floor. His mom worked two jobs to support him, an original latchkey kid.
Claradell (Gergely) Shedd grew up in similar poverty, though in Iowa.
Orphaned at the age of six by a tornado which claimed the lives of both
parents, Claradell and her two siblings were shuffled among relatives
and acquaintances (including life "on the farm") until they
were taken in by friends of their late parents who lived in Des Moines,
Iowa. Claradell recalls the years of making her clothes from feed sacks
and the hardship and inconvenience of no running water, plumbing or electricity.
She lived in an era of rationed shoes, rationed sugar, and rationed automobile
tires. "We had access to a car, but we also had a horse and buggy!"
Tough
times create determined spirits
The adversities of
Harry and Claradell's youth created a tenacity of mind and spirit that
shaped their lives, careers and relationship with each other and the community
at large.
"When we first met," Claradell says, "We had no one but
one another." As a result, the Shedds have made it their lives' mission
to help others who have also dealt with instability in their lives, from
teens to seniors.
Harry met Claradell on January 20, 1957 in Washington, D.C., while a West
Point cadet there to march in Eisenhower's Second Inaugural Parade. Claradell
was then in the Foreign Service in Washington D.C., awaiting assignment
to San Paulo, Brazil. Through mutual acquaintances, the two ended up at
a dance hall - really the basement of military housing quarters. Claradell
didn't even dance with Harry, but with another cadet. She and her partner
skirted washing machines and other basement "furniture" while
Harry lounged on a couch. "One California dip gone south and Claradell
was in my lap," recalls Harry - a happy misstep that was the beginning
of more than sixty years of marriage and companionship.
With total assets of $50.00, Harry and Claradell wed at West Point the
day after Harry's graduation in June,1958. During the early years, they
moved frequently due to Harry's military status, spending time in Oklahoma,
Texas and Georgia and traveling the world. (Claradell worked two full-time
jobs for over a year to provide a European vacation.) When Harry was discharged
as a first lieutenant, the couple was living in Orange, CA. He "retrained"
himself as a stockbroker, and in 1962, began specializing in life and
health insurance with Allstate Insurance Companies. He remained with Allstate
for 37 years, receiving numerous awards of achievement and rising through
the ranks of management.
Claradell also had a successful professional career, serving as special
assistant to several high-profile executives, including the CEO of Carl's
Jr. Restaurants. In 1966, when Allstate transferred Harry to Seattle,
Claradell joined Boeing and worked for 33 years as the assistant to seven
vice presidents as well as the president of Boeing Aerospace. Claradell
fondly remembers that exciting time of invention and ingenuity, especially
when she was the personal assistant to the chief engineer of the 737 and
the creator of the Long-Range Cruise Missile (ALCM).
After relocating to Washington, they first lived in Bellevue before moving
to Sammamish. A high school buddy of Harry's was the golf pro at the Sahalee
Country Club and introduced the Shedds to the Sammamish Plateau. The idea
of a golf course for a backyard appealed to the couple, particularly Harry
who had golfed and caddied his way through high school and college. (Harry's
memorable victory was an Army win over Navy after Harry, the last out
on the course, was 7 down on the frontside and won every hole on the backside
to win 2 Up. Army beat Navy!) The Shedds bought a "fixer upper"
in the Sahalee neighborhood and have lived there for the past thirty-two
years, much to the benefit of the community. Over the years, the Shedds
have made themselves somewhat indispensable to the Sahalee Country Club
operations since the late 1970's. For years they were the official volunteer
scorers of tournaments and, in the absence of local commercial lodging,
they hosted countless collegiate, amateur and professional golf athletes,
becoming mentors to many. The care and interest the Shedds took in their
athlete lodgers earned them the reputation for being "a most coveted
host family in the community." The Shedds have also sponsored immigrants
and refugees, personally housing two families (totaling six) from Chernobyl
for over a year.
Above
and Beyond Hospitality and Christmas Cheer!
Golf related: "It
was exciting and so much fun," Claradell recalls; "We housed
the Arizona girls for over ten years of tournaments. For several years,
we had the entire Pepperdine team (5); including two years when they were
the number one team in the nation. We took care of them, serving them
breakfast by candlelight!" The Shedds even went so far as to sponsor
one of the women athletes during her qualification run for the Ladies
Professional Golf Association (LPGA) with Harry serving as her manager
for the first year while she lived with them in Sahalee.
The Shedds are not ones for half measures. In fact, full measure is often
just a milestone on the way to above and beyond when it comes to Harry
and Claradell's contributions consistently expressed in their Christian
counseling and activities. Take their renown holiday miniature Christmas
Village tours, which began in 1995. Most people bring out a few ceramic
and porcelain miniature decorations for the holidays. The Shedds, however,
turned their collection of Department 56 miniatures (which grew exponentially
over the years) into a three-dimensional, multi-sensory experience that
encompassed seven rooms and three floors of their home. Claradell utilized
her talents to embellish the scenery around the villages with personalized
sandwich boards, music, decorative quilts and fabrics, needlepoints and
elaborately wrapped diminutive gift boxes, while Harry provided supporting
structures and lighting. What began as a gift to their Sammamish community
became so famous that the Shedds conducted annual holiday tours for over
twelve years, regularly hosting as many as 500 visitors a season. (Largest
group was two chartered buses at the same time!) The tours have come to
an end, but the Shedds still have a Christmas tree up year-round and a
life-sized nutcracker image greets visitors at the front door.
"Attitude,
more than age, determines energy." ~ Harry and Claradell Shedd
Undeniably
artistic, Claradell's talents and abilities expand beyond the creative.
Both the Shedds are life-long learners. Harry earned designations of LUTC
(Life Underwriting Training Council), HIAA (Health Insurance Association
of America), his FLMI (Fellow Life Management Institute), and his CLU
(Certified Life Underwriter) in his 30s, studying for his business MBA
in his 40s, along the way graduating from the New York School of Finance
to gain his brokerage certification, and Claradell jumped on the technology
wave at the age of 65+. As a coed for the second time around, in 2002,
she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in graphic design. For 16
years she has created personally-hosted nonprofit websites (40) with over
6,000,000 hits annually, carving out an award-winning niche for herself
in the development of high school and university class reunion and archival
sites, and becoming an expert in genealogy and ancestry research along
the way. She has traced her family heritage back to 1615 and Harry's back
to 1030. Claradell's family tree now embraces over 34,000 people.
Harry ended up taking a few computer courses himself, just so he could
carry on a conversation with his wife, "I couldn't understand what
she was talking about," Harry grumbled with a smile. Back to school…Then,
he began sharing his new-found technical knowledge with other seniors
in the community facing similar learning curve challenges, volunteering
and instructing at SeniorNet for over ten years.
The Shedds show no signs of slowing down or falling behind the times.
Harry and Claradell have wired their home with their personal servers;
they converse daily with their Echo and Ring devices and have multiple
drones. "We live as normal Sammamish citizens with watches, phones,
tablets, CPUs, laptops, fax, and a protection system networked and synchronized,
accessible from anywhere." Harry and Claradell are devoted to the
Sammamish community, working tirelessly to preserve its historic heritage
and beauty and ensuring its civic and cultural viability for the community.
"Life is a gift. The way you live your life is your gift to those
who come after." ~ Harry and Claradell Shedd
2 Timothy
1:6: "Stir up the gift within you." If you want to walk out
God's plan for your life, it's time to stir up that gift within you for
His glory!
The
Shedd's influence is imprinted throughout the community.
Harry
and Claradell have been instrumental contributors to numerous organizations:
- The Boys and Girls Club of Sammamish: Providing financial support
as well as teen mentorship. Introduction of the Teen Garden Project,
etc.
- The Sammamish Heritage Society: Working to preserve local historic
buildings.
- Citizens for Sammamish: They are original members and Harry chairs
this grassroots forum for local citizen concerns. www.citizensforsammamish.com
- Washington State: Harry and Claradell spent over eight years as
volunteer ombudsmen advocating for the rights of the elderly in long-term
care facilities. Harry initiated the introduction and eventual adoption
of the Right of Initiative and Referendum for Sammamish, adopted by
citizen advisory vote in 2015.
- Harry: Sammi Circle of Service Award; 2013
- The Arts Commission: Claradell coordinated the design and installation
of local art in Sammamish roundabouts and is currently programming
introduction of artistic wraps for the Sammamish utility boxes. President's
Volunteer Award in 2012, 2013, 2015. President Donald J. Trump's Volunteer
Lifetime Achievement Award; 2018.
- Two years at Chamber of Commerce "Info" Booth at the Sammamish
Farmers' Market
- Nourishing Network Group: Focused on meeting needs of Sammamish
citizens
- Encourage all toward sports participation. Harry golfs (golfed).
Claradell won city and state (IA) titles in tennis and figure skating.
They skied.
- Claradell: 2005: Inducted into her North Des Moines (IA) High School
Hall of Fame
- Sammamish Symphony and the Performing Arts.
- For twelve years, conducted personal garden tour, sharing over 200
blue-ribbon rose bushes.
- For twelve years, conducted Department 56 Miniature Village Holiday
Tours in our home for the Sahalee and Sammamish community. These tours
accommodated over 500 guests and visitors per year to our home during
the holidays. website: http://www.sheddvillages.com
- Harry and Claradell are looking forward to becoming active students
at Central Washington's Sammamish Campus.
Share Shedds' interests and passions on their home page: www.hshedd.com.
These include Claradell's award-winning quilts (150): http://www.hshedd.com/quilts/index.html
and her personalized gift wrapping examples: http://www.hshedd.com/gift%20wrapping/index.html,
as well as an online guided tour of Shedd Villages at www.sheddvillages.com
Home
| Locations
| No.1 Box | No.2
Box | No.3 Box | No.4
Box | No.5 Box | No.6
Box | No.7 Box |
No.8 Box |
No.9 Box | No.10 Box | No.11
Box | Harry Military
| Sammi Award | Golf
|
Claradell Hall of Fame | Volunteer
| Skates | Contact
| Projects | City
Council
|
