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My friend and former employer, Pat S., died in July. My mom recently sent me a newspaper clipping of a longer article about Pat -- sort of a combination obituary and life retrospective. I am posting a transcription for my own reference, since the newspaper in question does not have a free online archive (and their fees are outrageous!). Pat's relatives' names have been altered to maintain their privacy.

Pat Selvage's life: A profile in courage
Diminutive and disabled, she persevered to help others and won over their hearts

By Sally Capone, staff writer
Thursday, 7/31/08

CHATHAM - A tiny woman confined to a wheelchair, Pat Selvage of Chatham left behind a big legacy of courage over adversity when she died Monday, July 7, at Morristown Memorial Hospital.

The Madison native was born with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA), but it didn't deter her pursuit of an education that she put to work to help others.

Ms. Selvage was a National Honor Society graduate of Madison High School and went on to earn an undergraduate degree from Transylvania College, Lexington, KY, and a master's degree in social work from the University of Pittsburgh, PA. She became a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) and a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW).

Turned The Tide
Charles Graybeal, professor at the Drew Theological School in Madison and an original board member of Cheshire Home in Florham Park, recalls Ms. Selvage's fight to get the Cheshire Home residence for disabled adults built on three acres of property on Ridgedale Avenue.

The Exxon Corporation had donated the land in the late 1970s, and the facility eventually was built there in the early 1980s.

"Pat was not 5 feet tall nor 100 pounds, and couldn't walk, but she could speak beautifully, and I wanted to get her on the board at the Cheshire Home," Graybeal remembered.

"We were having a hard time getting the Florham Park zoning board to give us a variance to build the home in a family housing area," he noted.

"I would go every two weeks to plead, but people didn't want it.

"One time Pat said in her small voice, 'Could I come?'

"I had to carry her up the stairs, and she sat in the back of the room before rolling up the aisle in her wheelchair and telling the board how she grew up in Madison and was on the staff at Morristown Memorial Hospital.

"She related to the board how she lived with her family, but if they couldn't take care of her, she wouldn't be able to do what she does.

"She charmed them, and they re-voted," Graybeal said.

Student Helpers
Realizing she needed help to remain independent, Ms. Selvage hired dozens of Madison High School students over the years to help her with everyday tasks.

Georgia Van Ryzin of Grove Street recalls being one of those teen helpers in the late 1970s.

"The job wasn't advertised per se, but we knew about Pat by word of mouth, and it was a great job for us because of the flexibility," Van Ryzin said.

"I would help Pat get ready to go to work before I went to school, and then I would help her in the evening.

"It allowed her to be independent," she said.

Van Ryzin moved away from Madison after high school, but returned eight years ago. Since then she ran into Ms. Selvage at various Madison events.

"I saw her at Bottle Hill Day and Fishawack," Van Ryzin said, referring to the annual street festival in Madison and the biennial festival in Chatham, "and was glad to see that she was getting around."

When the Van Ryzins' son was born at Morristown Memorial Hospital, she again ran into Ms. Selvage, who worked there for nearly 25 years as a psychiatric clinical social worker.

"She showed teens that they could be caregivers for the disabled," Van Ryzin said.

Final Morning
Ms. Selvage's tenant at her Yarmouth Avenue home in Chatham recalls the morning she died.

"She was up early and getting ready for a doctor's appointment, when she rolled off the deck," said Steven Finlan.

"She was taken to Morristown Memorial Hospital and died there that morning," he said. "It was very quick."

A published author with a doctoral degree in theology, Finlan noted that Ms. Selvage enjoyed helping out students whenever she could.

In addition to her career at Morristown Memorial, Ms. Selvage worked for Easter Seals, maintained a private practice, and served as a counselor for the Morris County Crisis Hotline.

She was also an active member of the New Jersey chapter of the American Association for Family and Marriage Therapy (AAFMT), and a long-serving board member of Cheshire Home.

Ms. Selvage is survived by her father, J.C. Selvage; her brother, B. Selvage and his wife, M.; her sister, D., and her husband J. Kerr; her brother, D. Selvage and his wife, D.; and eight nieces and nephews. She is also survived by her aunts and uncles, C. Selvage, E. and C. Selvage and family, and D. and J. Stobaeus and family. Her mother, B., died previously.

Donations may be made in her name to Morristown Memorial Hospital, 100 Madison Ave., Morristown, NJ 07960; Cheshire Home Inc., 9 Ridgedale Ave., Florham Park, NJ 07932; or the Freylinghuysen Arboretum, 53 East Hanover Ave., Morristown, NJ 07960.

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You know, I always forget just how weird the paragraphing in newspaper and magazine articles is, and what awkward gramatical contortions most journalists fall prey to. I kept having to stomp on my impulse to rationalize the paragraphing and trim out the dialogue tags that would thus be rendered redundant, and that's not even getting into my urge to rearrange and rewrite bits of the Van Ryzin section wholesale.
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Elizabeth Culmer

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