Social Scene

Robert Devaney • July 2, 2014

Washington writer, classy gossip columnist and Capitol Hill resident Diana McLellan was laid to rest in Congressional Cemetery June 28. McLellan’s life was celebrated at the cemetery chapel with friends and family reciting poetry and recalling perfect dinners with her.

Jokes flew about her being buried among such famous Washingtonians to get the real stories. At the burial, her spreading a little more dirt around was a quip. Also, as family members placed flowers on the wicket-basket coffin, daughter Fiona Weeks placed a tube of lipstick on the coffin.

The repast was at the Capitol Hill Mr. Henry’s, one of McLellan’s favorite hang-outs.

At the memorial service, Roy Forey, a neighbor of Diana McLellan, read a poem, entitled, “A Night at Diana’s Table.”

It is reprinted below, with the author’s permission:

A Night at Diana’s Table

I was lucky enough to dine at Diana’s table.

The invite offered in the most casual terms — “just neighbors and friends and a peasants’ meal” — but it was more than that.

Welcomed and introduced to everyone, no one could ever be on the fringes.
Plied with liquor and opening chatter we were ushered into the dining area.

With candles dribbling hot wax and flickering in the inebriated air, Diana and Dick held court at each end of the table.

Diana disappeared behind the curtains and like Merlin from King Arthur’s court conjured up tureens, filled with wonderful vegetables, beans, and tender meat in a sauce that was always delicious.

Quickly we transformed into a huge debating table, where participants fought for their point of view. Speakers’ corner on octane, Algonquin on Constitution Avenue.

Then, as the wine flowed and some took to liqueurs, others lit up, engulfing us all and sending us in a time machine to the fifties.

On occasion, Edith might be persuaded to play the “old Joanna” and those of us with bigger egos than voices sang the memories of old.

We left Diana’s table without a care.
We were in the moment, and only our beds beckoned.

Of all the tables I have been invited to, Diana’s was the best. Not by an inch–by a mile.
Yes, the guests were great, the diversity, the stories, but it was the master of ceremonies, the conductor, the Air Commodore’s daughter who shone the brightest and made an invitation to her table one you would never turn down.

Erin Schaff •

Ford’s Theatre Society hosted a star-studded evening June 22 with appearances by VIPs of politics, business, stage and screen. Rep. John D. Dingell, D-Mich., and legendary actor James Earl Jones received the Lincoln Medal in recognition of their commitment to leadership and service. [gallery ids="116315,116332,116336,116342,116321,116327" nav="thumbs"]

Georgetowner •

The Newbabes invaded the Powerhouse event venue on Grace Street June 11. With Jill Biden as a special guest, the party got even more classy and benefited the cancer survivor program, SOS — Survivors Offering Support — at Georgetown University Hospital, which helps 800 women annually. [gallery ids="101790,140771,140779,140776" nav="thumbs"]

Georgetowner •

A powerful, emotional slice of America was on display June 17 at a naturalization ceremony at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History and presentation of the Smithson Medal to designer Ralph Lauren. On hand was Hillary Clinton, former Secretary of State and potential 2016 presidential candidate, along with Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, the Smithsonian’s Wayne Clough and John Gray and Sarah Taylor of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Also on hand were Lauren’s family and 15 new Americans. [gallery ids="101791,140766,140763,140769" nav="thumbs"]

Georgetowner •

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society celebrated the close of the National Capital Area Man & Woman of the Year Campaign June 21 with a Grand Finale Gala. Gary DePreta, Director of Civilian Agencies at Cisco, and Evelyn Smallwood, General Manager at Ted Britt Ford, were the night’s big winners. Through 10 weeks of fundraising and relentless dedication to the mission, DePreta and Smallwood led 20 candidates who together raised $1.63 million, a new record for the National Capital Area Chapter of the LLS. [gallery ids="101793,140756,140754" nav="thumbs"]

Mary Bird • June 30, 2014

“Washington’s black-tie gala for the four-on-the-floor crowd” was a sellout at the Washington Hilton June 14. Washington Humane Society President and CEO Lisa LaFontaine said more than 1,000 two-footers were attending and that they lost count after 550 dogs. “Voice of the Washington Redskins” Larry Michael was master of ceremonies and called the evening the “the Super Bowl of dog events.” All proceeds will support the critical WHS programs and services that benefit thousands of homeless, lost and abused animals in the District of Columbia. [gallery ids="101777,141116,141111,141107,141103,141098,141095,141090,141086,141118" nav="thumbs"]

Robert Devaney • June 27, 2014

Actress Tea Leoni — a UNICEF ambassador and star of the upcoming CBS drama, “Madam Secretary” — headlined a June 5 fundraiser, hosted by Samar and Will Langhorne at their Georgetown home to benefit UNICEF’s education programs for Syrian children.

Leoni spoke movingly of her visit to the Za’atari camp — the world’s second-largest refugee camp — in Jordan during an interview with Lynn Stratford of U.S. Fund for UNICEF at the Langhorne home.

For Samar Langhorne, the benefit was personal. Her father was in a Palestinian refugee camp, she told the crowd, and got an education through UNICEF. She, herself, lived in a refugee camp for a time.

Displaced by the civil war in Syria, many Syrians have gone from a well-to-do life to living in a box on the street, Leoni said. At the refugee camp in Jordan, she was struck by the amount of children — “70 percent under the age of 11.” There, “the teenage boys are angry,” she said. “There is no life.”

“Getting kids back in school is urgent,” she said. “There has to be a safe place for children. … We are looking at the potential for a lost generation. … These children may grow up without a country.”

As the humanitarian crisis in Syria enters its fourth year, children continue to be the most vulnerable. According to UNICEF, “the conflict has affected 5.5 million Syrian children, including 1.4 million children living as refugees in the surrounding countries of Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt.”

The one uplifting about the crisis is that “the partnerships are wholly impressive,” Leoni said. She was including, of course, UNICEF — her grandmother was one of the co-founders of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. Leoni has been a UNICEF Ambassador since 2001 and a national board member of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF since 2006. UNICEF stands for United Nations Children’s Fund, formerly United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund.

We will be seeing a lot more of Leoni in D.C. this fall — at least on television. As a actress, Leoni will be in a lead role that is decidedly Washingtonian. She plays the Secretary of State in “Madam Secretary,” a new CBS drama, set for a September debut.
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Mary Bird •

The spring gala of the D.C. Chapter of Room to Read, a global organization seeking to transform the lives of millions of children in Asia and Africa through a focus on literacy and gender equality in education, took place at the offices of Jones Day May 22. The event, which raised a record $750,000, included a reception, gala and dinner featuring Room to Read founder John Wood and Ambassador Frank G. Wisner.
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Mary Bird •

Ambassador of Italy and Mrs. Claudio Bisogniero hosted a reception at the embassy on June 2 to celebrate Italian National Day. The record crowd brought traffic on Massachusetts Avenue to a virtual halt. Guests clearly admired the embassy’s striking architecture as they enjoyed the best of Italian cuisine. The event highlighted next year’s universal exposition that will be held in Milan: Expo 2015 Milano “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life.” [gallery ids="101781,141024,141021,141027" nav="thumbs"]

Robert Devaney •

The Friends of Volta Park completed its annual festive get-together at Georgetown Visitation Prep June 6 with food and drink from 1789 Restaurant and the added fun of a live auction, called by Griff Jenkins of Fox News. It is one of the best neighborly parties in town. Local politicians stopped by as well, including Mayor Vincent Gray and councilman Jack Evans. The group is near its annual goal of $50,000 for Volta Park maintenance and improvement. [gallery ids="141064,141068,141059,141075,141073" nav="thumbs"]