Elizabeth Shedlick

1934 - 2020

Elizabeth Ann Shedlick

Falls Church, VA - Mrs. Elizabeth A. Shedlick, 86, of Falls Church, Virginia died on Sunday, December 27, 2020, at Virginia Hospital Hospital Center, Arlington, VA. She was the beloved wife of Edward Francis Shedlick.

Born on July 17, 1934 in Worcester, Massachusetts, Elizabeth was the youngest daughter of the late Stanley and Mary H. (Plotczyk) Chapowicki. She attended Nelson Place Elementary School, and received her religious formation and sacraments at Our Lady of Czestochowa Catholic Church.

After graduating with first honors from Commerce High School, Elizabeth enrolled in Boston College and earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1956. She began her career as a registered nurse at City and St. Vincent Hospitals, before attending Officer Candidate School and joining the Navy Nurse Corps, entering the U.S. Navy on June 30, 1959. She was assigned to U.S. Naval Hospital, Bethesda, Maryland (now Walter Reed National Military Medical Center), where she was recognized for her kindness, care, and devotion to duty.

In 1961, while working at Bethesda, Elizabeth was vetted and selected to serve in the White House as personal nurse to President Kennedy, a role in which she continued throughout the Johnson administration. Elizabeth worked under the Physician to the President, first Dr. Janet Travell, then Vice Admiral George Burkley. She travelled extensively with the President and First Lady, accompanying them on trips both foreign and domestic, and was herself often the subject of interest and news articles, including a piece in the Sunday Telegram Feature Parade.

Elizabeth met Edward Shedlick in the mid-1960's, while he was serving as pastor of St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church in Washington, D.C. After he received a papal dispensation from Pope Paul IV to return to the laity, Edward and Elizabeth were married on December 11, 1967 in a small ceremony in San Francisco. Armed forces protocol at the time was involuntary honorable discharge for pregnant women in uniform, however Elizabeth received a waiver from President Johnson to continue working throughout her pregnancy, becoming the first woman in the U.S. military to give birth.

Elizabeth served with distinction throughout her naval career, achieving the rank of Lieutenant Commander, and was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal and National Defense Service Medal.

After retiring from the Navy on May 15, 1969, Elizabeth and her husband Ed moved to Montgomery Village, Maryland, had two more children, and began the work of raising their family. When Ed accepted an appointment at the American Embassy in Paris, France, Elizabeth and her young family moved abroad in January 1979. During their years in Paris, Elizabeth traveled extensively throughout Europe and Africa, was active with the embassy's Community Liaison Office, and organized fundraising events and auctions for her children's schools.

Elizabeth and her husband returned stateside in 1990, settling back into their home in Maryland before embarking on one more tour of Europe a few years later, this time at the U.S. Embassy in London. Upon Ed's retirement from the Commerce Department, the couple moved to Frederick, Maryland.

Elizabeth honorably served her country and selflessly served her family. She is survived by her three children, sons Christopher B. Shedlick, Matthew T. Shedlick (wife Danielle A.), daughter Sarah B. Anderson, and five grandchildren, Zoe E., Ian T. and Beatrice A. Shedlick and Shelby Z. and Eleanor W. Anderson. Also surviving are Elizabeth's sister Genevieve T. Giuffrida of Claremont, CA, brothers Robert J. Chadwick and Edwin H. Chadwick both of Worcester, MA, and many nieces and nephews, some to whom she was godmother. Elizabeth is predeceased by her husband Edward, and siblings Rita R. Merthan, Alice M. Chapowicki, Irene R. Paradis, Lottie A. Dolan, and Stanley E. Chadwick.

Family will receive friends at Adams-Green funeral home in Herndon, VA on Wednesday, January 13 from 6 to 8 pm. A Mass of Christian Burial with be held on Thursday, January 14 at 10 am at St. Timothy Roman Catholic Church, 13807 Poplar Tree Road, Chantilly, VA. Interment at Arlington National Cemetery will be May 18 at 11am.