Tessi Shafer said her involvement with the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society saved her life.

After the death of her husband two years ago, retired Navy Chief Leslie Shafer, it was her work with the Relief Society that got her through, she said.

“He was a good man,” Shafer said. “It keeps me busy. It kept me sane these last few years.”

Tessi Shafer, a volunteer with the Relief Society’s Thrift Shop on Seaplane Base for 26 years now, recently became a recipient of the Mrs. Grace Glenwood Higginson Lifetime Achievement Award.

The award, signed by retired Adm. Steve Abbot, the society’s president, is the highest volunteer honor.

Only seven people have received this honor since the society’s founding in 1904.

“The most important thing you can give somebody is your time,” said Elton Grifford, director of local Relief Society, who praised Shafer for her “never-say-die” work ethic.

Shafer held a wide variety of jobs in the thrift shop over the years from general worker to sorter, to administrative support and culminating in her long-serving role as thrift shop lead.

She is uniquely qualified to mentor volunteers who speak English as a second language, and always makes an effort to help them adjust to a new culture, language and land.

“Tessi is dedicated,” said Kirstin Perry, chair of volunteers. “She is just the sweetest, kindest lady and has a wicked sense of humor.”

Her management expertise is reflected in the care shown to young parents looking to find affordable and essential items for their newborns, and in the unique partnership she encourages between the thrift shop and the Budget for Baby program.

The award recognizes outstanding, sustained volunteer service to sailors, marines and their families, typically at multiple sites and in various roles of increasing responsibility.

“Mrs. Shafer’s breadth of talents is genuinely exceptional and her devotion is simply unrivaled — her long record of consummate service to the naval community embodies the true spirit and intent of the Mrs. Grace Glenwood Higginson Lifetime Achievement Award,” the award states.

For Shafer, the work has given her a community to rely on and sense of purpose as she assists families in need.

“I like when people tell me I helped them,” Shafer said. “It makes me feel good.”

The Navy-Marine Relief Society has provided assistance and eduction to active duty and retired servicemen and women, their families and survivors.

The Relief Society is a non-profit organization that is staffed by more than 3,800 volunteers, and a small staff of employees, in more than 50 offices around the world.

For more information, visit www.nmcrs.org.