(photo caption: Henry and Pauline Shryock)
Pauline LeMarie Shryock, a long-time resident of Southwest DC, died recently after a short illness at the age of 102. She and her late husband, Henry Shryock, were the oldest members of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. They were hiking with the PATC well into their 90s. They lived at Harbour Square. Pauline also was a member of the Wanderbirds and Capital Hiking Club.
Deborah Pauline Douglas McDougall was the eldest of two daughters born to an old aristocratic Scottish family. Her father, William McDougall, headed a family enterprise dealing with china merchandising and pottery manufacturing that ran a fleet of ships out of Port Glasgow and traded all over the world. However, her life of privilege changed when she was 18. The Great Depression of the 1930s crippled the family business. Her mother became ill and her father died shortly afterward.
Pauline and her 12-year-old sister were placed under the care of relatives. When Pauline was old enough to find employment, her aunts in England decided she should take up nursing. After a few years, however, she decided nursing was not her lot.
At the beginning of World War II, she joined the British Women’s Voluntary Services. She served in Hong Kong, Burma, Malay, and Singapore. She survived the aftermath of Aung Sang’s assassination in Burma. She went to London for several months and was there during some of the German bombings. She was also involved with the rehabilitation of Berlin and Hamburg during the Berlin Airlift of 1948 and 1949. She performed some nursing duties during that time. She was married to her first husband, Frank Le Marie, a diplomat, for 28 years.
In the 1960s, Pauline came to Washington to work with her employers, who were returning to the United States from England. She was in her mid-50s by this time and among the activities she took up was hiking. That’s when she met Henry. After they were married, they hiked across New Zealand on their honeymoon. They were married for 30 years.
Pauline didn’t come to America entirely without family. An aunt and uncle had immigrated to the United States in the 1920s and settled in New Jersey. She also had cousins living in New Jersey and Delaware. One cousin was a physician and eye surgeon who headed Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia. Her love of traveling continued with Henry. They took many interesting trips with their hiking group and the Cosmos Club, of which Henry was a member.
A memorial service for Pauline was held at the Cosmos Club. She was buried adjacent to Henry at St. Thomas Church in Owings Mill, Maryland.
By: Jim Flanigan