Christmas Has Special Meaning for Merri

It’s a Season of Sparkle, Cheer and Memories

December 23, 2008

By Paula Selleck

This is the time of year when Merri Schloffer’s special connection to the season unfolds like the blossoms of a poinsettia.

“I love Christmas; it’s my favorite holiday,” she said. “I love everything about it — the shopping, the carols, the trees, the lights, the decorations . . . everything.”

It’s a joyful thing she loves the holiday because Merri’s name takes its main inspiration from her paternal grandmother, Merry Christmas Shepard, who was born on — you guessed it — Dec. 25. Her parents combined the first names of their daughter’s two grandmothers to get Merri, which is pronounced just like Mary, but with merriment in the spelling.

On campus, where she serves as administrative assistant to both the director and assistant director of the Office of Grants and Contracts, Merri gets into the spirit of the season with festive attire and attends local concerts with her husband. She also enjoys the holiday décor of local neighborhoods and shopping centers, especially, Fashion Island.

“Christmas has good memories for me,” she said. At home, the smell of pine from live wreaths fills the air, and her Christmas tree sparkles with treasures collected over the years. “I still have ornaments that were my grandparents’.”