New-York tribune., 1920-03-07
Lee Shippey and Mary Woodson,
of Kansas City, Were the
Ideal Couple"

the French girl telling her that his
homecoming had been sad and for
her to arrange to come to the United
States as ''it would all be over soon'
and he would be free to marry her.
Already in poor health, the affair
left Mrs. Shippey in a serious con-
dition, and she cannot be seen. Ship
pey himself tells the story in his
own way:
'In the spring Of 1918 l applied
for service in the Y. NJ. C. A., for
the reason that my wife and / could
not live in peace, and / felt a sep
aration was best for both Of us and
our son. Before that 1 had tried
to enlist in the army. She left me
several times, because, she said, life
with me was uncomfortable.
"On November /, 1918, met Ma
deleine Babin with her sister, placing
flowers on the graves in the Ameri-
can cemetery in Suresnes. For ten
months our friendship grew. l came
to love the whole family. On May
/, 1919, when I was notified my hotel
was to be closed, I went to their
home to board, and there was taken
into the most beautiful family life
l have ever seen. The courage with
which they met misfortunes and
their sweetness to each other made
their home so pleasant that the
months / spent there were the hap
piest in my life.
a Big Brother
Before that, had been a Zig
brother in the family. Our rela-
tions were so innocent l had written
back to Kansas City newspaper an
account of the life in the French
home in which I lived. From that
article Mrs. Shippey guessed the
truth long before l dreamed of it.
Just few days before leaving Paris
l received from her a letter saying
if I had lost my heart in France it
would be all right and she would be
a sport about it, but I owed it to
her to come home and straighten
things out.
madeleine never tried to break up
my home. Her efforts always were
in the other direction. At that time
she told me that whatever became
of her must do my full duty to
my legal wife and child. l returned
to America for that purpose.
"Mrs. Shippey met me in New
York and Immediately the unhappy
spirit which had made our home so
unhappy before I went overseas as
serted itself. She accused me of
having come home reluctantly. I
tried to assure her that l was glad
to be home, but admitted had come
home with the determination that
if we could not live together hap
PLY we must separate. She be-
came so angered at that that she
struck me with her fists.
\"The day after our return to
Kansas City l received a letter of
fering' Madeleine place as a
French teacher in Oregon. l had
written letters about her to America
long before there had been anything
improper about our love for each
other. forwarded that letter to
Madeleine and on the strength of
it she secured a passport to America
"On arriving in America she
knew what she had not known be-
fore, that she was to become a
mother. That made it impossible
for her to teach in a girls school.
No one met her in New York, and
in the hotel to which she went,
though it was good one, $50 was
stolen from a purse which she left
in her room while she went to the
dining room That left her without
enough money to get to Oregon, SO
she came to Kansas City.
Praises Her Bravery
"The poor little girl was very sick
but still brave. Throughout all this
trying situation her bravery and
sweetness have been my greatest
comfort. All her life in this country
has been lawful and honorable, and
she has encouraged me to fulfill
every legal and moral obligation to
my wife and son. I told my wife
that, in view of our previous un-
happiness, nothing / could ever do
could make things right for her now
and begged her to let me do the one
decent thing left for me to do