Farewell Beloved Sister/Friend Mary Long - Rest in Power

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Hello All:


When you meet someone as effervescent and lively as Mary Long, it's hard to think of her as having made her transition.  But she is now resting with the Ancestor/Angels, and leaving us to shaker our heads and wonder why.  

She barely stood 5 feet tall.  She was always elegant and energetic, and looking much too young to have a daughter, my friend Shyra Arrington, and two adult granddaughters.  Mary dressed as though she just stepped out of Vogue Magazine - and had a ready smile to everyone she met.  

She was an enterprising entrepreneurial sister who had launched a successful travel agency - that successfully booked international tours.

A California sister, Mary, her daughter Shyra, and I were actually set to get together this weekend for an event in Washington, DC honoring a mutual friend, and my Sorority Sister, Dr. Efaye Williams, Esq.    But our sister had a prior appointment with God the Living Spirit Almighty, and we now have to reschedule our gathering to when we all receive our own inevitable invitation.

Mary Long and Me at the National Congress of Black Women's Awards Ceremony, DC 2018

I met Mary Long through her daughter, Shyra (whom I met at NAN in NYC two years ago) at the Congressional Black Caucus in DC.  They came in from California with  a friend, Andrea, an aspiring medical intuitive; and were joined by a friend, author Sherry Hill from New Orleans. 

Mary's daughter, Shyra, is a people magnet, and has the reputation of meeting people from all over the world, and endearing them to her - a trait it was obviously she inherited from her mother.

So this is by way of a farewell and a tribute to a woman who cast a gigantic shadow even though she was barely 5" tall:

Dear Mary:
It was soooo wonderful getting to know you - and all the great times we shared in DC.  Remember the Middle Eastern restaurant we went to in Alexandria? The food was sooo fabulous and spicy - I don't think any of us could finish it.  We ended up having to take it back to the hotel.  

And for some reason, we could never get out of the hotel in time for the CBC workshops - we spent so much talking and comparing wardrobes - and you always had the most elegant by far. 

But remember we hung out so late we couldn't get in gear for the National Black Women's Congress Breakfast and Awards Ceremony, we were late going, and it was right down stairs in the hotel we were staying in.  We had to finesse being fashionably late?   But it was a wonderful event, and you were so proud when Shyra was honored by Dr. Efaye Williams for her dedication to the organization.
We laughed our way thru the rest of the day.

I always recall how close you and Shyra were - what a wonderful mother/daughter relationship - more like Sister/Sister - you two share everything - opinions, concerns, and it's clear to see that she not only inherited your beauty, but your energy, creative resourcefulness, and brains.

I was so looking foward to hanging out with you in DC this week end, but I understand that you got an Exclusive Premiere Invitation that you could not refuse, from none other than God The Living Spirit Almighty.  And I get it:  When you're called to become a part of the Ancestor/Angel Elite, it's a once in a lifetime privilege.

So, I truly hope you're enjoying your stay.  You always were the elegant one.

So, while you're hanging with the other Celestial beings, please do us a favor and think about us and the good times, once in a while.  Because we'll certainly be thinking about you, and when we do we'll smile and treasure all the great times we shared.

Stay Blessed 
Rest In Power
With Much Love
Gloria

At the 2018  National Congress of  Black Women's Awards Brunch in DC - Mary is 5

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