'Polly's Pool' dedicated

TROY - Perhaps somewhere up in heaven, Martha Lloyd and Polly M. Dawsey were looking down.

Maybe they were watching all the people who turned out for a very special event Friday in Troy on the Martha Lloyd Community Services grounds.

Just maybe they were having a conversation as they looked down from their heavenly abode, a good talk about all the goings on down there.

That's how one Martha Lloyd board member saw it.

On Friday morning, board member Doug Ulkins was one of the speakers at a dedication of the indoor pool at Martha Lloyd Community Services in memory of Polly M. Dawsey, who passed away in January at 77 years old. Dawsey was a Martha Lloyd board member for a long time -- more than 25 years. Many of her family members showed up Friday morning for the ceremonies. Martha Lloyd Community Services assists adults with developmental disabilities.

"Rght now I can just see Martha Lloyd and Polly sitting in the parlor in heaven talking about what is going on today (with) Martha saying, 'Oh, Polly, what a wonderful thing to have a pool dedicated to you,'" Ulkins said. "And Polly would say, 'yes, but I wonder if it needs curtains?' I can hear those two ladies right now."

Todd Boyles, with Martha Lloyd Community Services, said Dawsey was a key member of the organization's residential living and buildings and grounds committees, and this led to the decision to dedicate the pool renovations in her honor. He said the pool is not only used by residents of Martha Lloyd, but also by the community, including the Boy Scouts and Troy High School. He said it's used for an infant swim and life guarding courses.

The pool project was a lot of work: window replacement, insulating and retiling the south wall. It will also include a new HVAC system for more efficient circulation, heating and cooling.

Now, it's not just the pool at Martha Lloyd.

With the dedication, it's "Polly's Pool."

"Martha Lloyd herself was re-embodied in Polly because Martha, in order to start this wonderful facility and this organization, had to have a deep love for the people who lived here. And Polly had the same," Ulkins said. "I could see a lot of Martha Lloyd in Polly in the years that I have been with her."

"She had one mission here, to make this place as warm, comfortable and happy for those people who call Martha Lloyd home as possible. And she was very, very successful at that."

"We loved Polly with all of our heart, and we'll miss her."

Richard S. MacIntire, former president/CEO of Martha Lloyd, said working with Dawsey was a "complete partnership."

"She told me what she thought we should do, we worked it out, and more than once when she thought we needed to do something but we didn't have the money, we worked it out anyway," he said. "Polly was very good at committing herself to finding the money when we didn't have it."

He recalled her dedication. "She was our own private interior decorator. She was able to change rooms with a sweeping gesture. She simply said, 'get it out of here, and it was done."

He said she was hardworking, interesting, inquisitive, demanding, supportive and funny -- but, most of all, caring, with a clear sense of purpose.

"Polly believed that only the best was good enough for her family and her community," he said. "She once famously marched into my office while we had a work project going on..."

He continued, "She was telling me she was demanding that the work be stopped on the ceiling repair immediately. What was happening was that the original, fancy, swirling plaster on the ceiling had fallen down. We were replacing the ceiling with sheet rock and paint."

A few chuckles from the audience tickled the chilly air.

"Polly believed that the home should be repaired in the manner that maintained its original beauty, and that the residents deserved that," he said. "She would settle for nothing less. She also made it clear that she was willing to find the money necessary to do the more expensive repair, so we did it."

A couple days later, MacIntire said, he received a note from her referring to her visit as "the little interruption last week from that pain-in-the-blank board member."

"Her notes and her humor were legendary," he said.

MacIntire recalled her support. "I always got a note after the Family Weekend, which is always an anxious time...telling me what a great job everybody did and that she knew how much work it was. Whenever she was aware of a difficult situation, she would call or send a note pledging her support and offering to help."

"She met everybody, and talked to everybody, she was always willing to give of herself. She did the Morning Coffee because she wanted it to be nice. She wanted this place to be special, not ordinary." He said Dawsey believed the quality of life at Martha Lloyd needed to be excellent, not average.

William E. Miller, the current president/CEO of Martha Lloyd Community Services, said Dawsey was smart, was a "doer," had an opinion, and liked to laugh. He noted that she really got involved and her role often went way beyond that of a typical board member.

"Polly also developed relationships with our residents and our staff over the years," he added, noting she was a great asset.

"She was not afraid to step up when she was needed, and that was appreciated by all."

He noted that she was a 'quiet' leader.

"She did not demand the spotlight or the attention," he said. "She just wanted things to go well and to look good." He said she is an icon of Martha Lloyd and will be missed.

"I think that we all want to believe that when our time has come, we made a difference. She did make a difference here and for that, we want to recognize her here today." He thanked her many family members for attending.

Board member Guire Webb recalled Dawsey's reaction after the annual "walk-about" on the Martha Lloyd property, and how they looked at all the residences and talked "about all the nuts and bolts and hard stuff that needed to be done."

"And when we would get back inside, we'd sit there and go, 'we're good for another year, what do you think, Polly?' She would raise that whimsical look and her one eyebrow would go up, and she would go, 'there's a lot of curtains that could be replaced, and the couches are looking pretty ratty. She said these are folks that live in these homes."

"Don't forget that they are people, and those people need quality living."

Webb noted that a kind of tribute was paid to Dawsey -- and the lifting of her eyebrow -- when they selected the windows for the pool building.

"I chose an eyebrow window to be placed over top of each one, and I trust Polly is pleased."

"What a grand lady..."

Marshall Dawsey, who was married to Polly Dawsey, said the dedication was a "wonderful honor for Polly."

Eric Hrin can be reached at (570) 297-5251; e-mail: reviewtroy@thedailyreview.com.