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7 | THE MAROON TIGER
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2003
Life
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by Lauren N. Stokes
FEATURES DESK
M y first impression of Mrs. Massey was of
exactly what her title suggests: Mrs. Walter
Massey, the woman behind the man. I
deemed Mrs. Massey to be the Jackie to
JFK, the Spliff Star to Busta, the Stedman to
Oprah. I was completely wrong. She is not a shadow or a
wannabe hype-man. Mrs. Massey is not the woman behind the
man, but the woman beside him, being an equal partner in both
marriage and career.
But just exactly who is this beautiful, accomplished,
personable woman?
Shirley Massey was bom and raised in Chicago, Illinois.
At the young age of nineteen, it was no surprise that the beautiful,
stunning, and fashionable Shirley was a model for print ads and
fashion shows. Later, she attended the Chicago Teacher’s College
for two years, taking several additional auditing courses. Her
early professional career saw her working with TWA in Chicago
for six years.
Growing up in Chicago, she always dreamed of getting
married and having children, and her dream finally came (rue
when she met a young and ambitious Walter Eugene Massey on
a blind date.
“I went on a lot of blind dates,” laughs Mrs. Massey. “We
didn’t go to bars back then.. .friends fixed you up.” That blind
date eventually led to a successful marriage and partnership that
produced two children and a wonderful business relationship to
which most couples aspire. The experiences in her life to that
point, she feels, helped shape the sensibilities that allow her to
be an effective first lady of the College. Attending the Chicago
Teachers College provided the ability to have caring, mentoring
relationships with the students of Morehouse, being their “second
mother” while they are away from their own mothers, while
travel smarts picked up in the years working with TWA are a
great asset as she helps to plan the president’s busy schedule.
We didn't go to bars
BACK THEN... FRIENDS
FIXED YOU UP.
As I walk into the lower level of the gorgeous Davidson
House, I am nervous about making her acquaintance, about
meeting at last this amazing woman about whom everyone
speaks so highly. I follow the sound of healthy laughter and
anxiously and curiously poke my head into an office. A few
more steps take me to a small, but energetic woman sitting on a
chair with her foot propped up inviting me in to join the laugh
session. Those vibrant green eyes, the ageless face, a friendly
smile, and a hearty laugh immediately welcome me. We start
talking, and a number of things become quite clear.
Shirley Massey is truly a Renaissance woman, not given to
wearing pillbox hats and swooning in humid weather. She holds
positions on many boards: Mrs. Massey is the president of the
Morehouse College Women’s Auxiliary and she is on the
Women’s Symphony Auxiliary board, the Mayor’s Masquerade
Ball Committee, the Board of Directors at the University of
Chicago, the Salisburic Seminar Board in Salisbury, Austria
(founded after WWII to bring together children of worn tom
countries), and the ARCS Women Science Organization—and
this is by no means an exhaustive list.
And then there’s the list of personal and family duties: she
is an accountant, preparing the family’s taxes; she is a travel
agent; constantly checking on Mr. Massey's travel arrangements;
she is a hostess, always planning parties and dinners; she is a
homemaker, managing the domestic affairs of the household;
she is a mother of two sons, ages 32 and 42, and a grandmother
of three, the youngest of which was bom earlier this year. Good
friends play an essential role in making such a hectic life work,
and Mrs. Massey shares the burden of running Davidson house
with another Shirley, Davidson House coordinator Shirley
Manor.
Perhaps unfortunately, most students of Morehouse know
the president’s wife only in this last capacity (though a relatively
large number do indeed get to know the nurturing, educating side of
the formidable woman). She takes the position of first lady very
Please see MRS. MASSEY continued on next page