Feeling Safe - An Autobiography

At her funeral, Miss Peggie's pastor began the eulogy saying "Peggie Shealy was one of the most difficult women I have ever met -- and the most Godly."

The congregation laughed with love and remembering. We also knew her well and loved her dearly. She was brilliant, delightful, supportive, directive, and multi-talented. I am thankful to have known and loved her in my lifetime.

One reason being a parent is so difficult is that you think you are going to get a being that replicates you and therefore you will understand it. Wrong. You don't.

Peggie L. Shealy, Ph.D.

Dr. Peggie Lancaster Shealy
SPARTANBURG, SC-- Dr. Peggie Lancaster Webb Shealy, 81, of RoseCrest Retirement Center, and most recently of Salem, SC, died Monday, December 10, 2007, at Mary Black Memorial Hospital. Born June 1, 1926, in Orlando, FL, she was raised in Spartanburg by her adoptive parents, the late Dr. Walter Bernard and Dorothy Witter Lancaster. She was predeceased by her husbands, Rev. Dr. O. Kenneth Webb, Jr. and John Carey Shealy, Jr. She was a graduate of Spartanburg High School, Vanderbilt University, BA, University of North Carolina, MA, and University of South Carolina, Ph.D. Dr. Shealy was a clinical psychologist in South Carolina for many years at Aiken County and Richland County Mental Health Centers and was the Executive Director of the Rock Hill Mental Health Center. She was deeply involved in disaster-preparedness and assistance planning for the State of South Carolina, Department of Mental Health. She also published a book, Feeling Safe.

If the world gets too much, go to the beach and look at the ocean. Any time of year will do. She is powerful. She puts you in your place and that's not bad. You are a little mammal on a little planet in a little galaxy in an enormous universe that all makes God's own kind of sense. Your problems are nearly the same dimension as that of your dog when it gets a flea or the goldfinches when the birdfeeder runs out of sunflower seeds. I happen to think God cares about all of these. We just happened to be creatures that can contemplate all of this. That's enough! Be thankful you can think!

You only become whole when you let others know your weaknesses and become vulnerable. Then they accept you.
Peggie L. Shealy, Ph.D.

The most beautiful flower I ever received
Was really an iris without the stem,
From a four-year-old who truly believed
The delicate bloom was one of "them."
My mud-streaked cherub thought he'd found
"The one you wear all upside downed!"

Peggie L. Shealy, Ph.D.
Feeling Safe

I have tried to introduce you to Peggie Shealy. It simply cannot be done. The little snippets from Feeling Safe simply provide a peek at this lady's wisdom. I am thankful that she was part of my life for such a long time. I learned so much from her. I hope that some of these little notes will help you or inspire you.

And yes, do write your story. Dr. Shealy would insist that you do. It is so important to do that. Her book has comforted me many times and I am sure it will continue to do so. Leave your story in written form for your children and grandchildren. Let them continue to learn from you long after you are gone from this earth. Okay?