Marion Shephard, The Peninsula Hotel

The Union is mourning the loss of our sister Marion Shephard, a room attendant at The Peninsula Hotel for over 30 years. Marion was also a Local 6 Delegate Assembly member. She passed away on April 12th at age 62.

Kwaku Oduro, a houseman at the Peninsula who was not only a colleague but a close friend of Marion’s, described her as “a genuinely nice lady and very helpful. Everyone loved her and she absolutely loved being around people. She was usually the center of attention at the year-end parties and she loved it.”

Floor Steward and Local 6 Assembly Delegate Enock Boakye remembers Marion as being a strong union delegate. “She would not hesitate to confront a manager if there was problem. She always fought for the workers,” he noted. “Marion and I would also take the train together to attend the Local 6 Delegate Assembly meetings at the union and we would always sit next to each other. It is very sad for me. I will really miss her a lot.”

Marion’s best friend and former colleague at the Peninsula, Caroline Lyons, remembers training Marion at the Peninsula over 30 years ago. “After we became close friends, we would go out together all the time. She loved to travel and she loved to read, and she was such a good speaker too. And she really loved her union - that was what she was really passionate about.”

Her son Joseph described his mother as a very wonderful, caring and selfless person. “She thought of everyone else except herself, and she would never judge people. She was always there for family, no matter what, and it was no different when it came to her co-workers at the hotel,” he explained.

Marion is survived by her 3 sons Joseph, Edwin and Vaughn.