Featured Story

Mary Lee McNelis was born with significant developmental delays, and at six years of age, she still was not speaking. When her mother, Laura, heard from yet another professional that her daughter would never speak, she was ready to throw in the towel. That's when her grandmother, Phyllis, a retired public school teacher, stepped in. She returned to college -- recalling she was "the oldest person on campus, I think..." -- and took classes on speech therapy. That summer, Mary went to live with her grandmother, and began to read. In two weeks, Mary wrote a letter and read it to her mother over the phone. Almost twenty years later, Laura and Mary recall the love imprinted on them by their mother and grandmother.