The Pauling, Sirleaf and Cooper Families regret to announce the passing of Malissa O. Pauling. She
peacefully passed away in her 84th year on October 24, 2024, in Bowie, Maryland.
Malissa O. (Chin Chin) Pauling was born in Monrovia, Montserrado County, Liberia on July 12, 1940, to Henrietta Amanda (HA) and Lewis J. McCauley. She completed her primary education at St. Teresa’s Convent (Monrovia), completed elementary and junior high school at Bromley Mission (Clay Ashland), and graduated high school from the College of West Africa (CWA) where she was the Class of 1959 Valedictorian. During her school years, Chin Chin was an All-Star athlete on the volleyball and track teams. She also performed leading roles in stage productions at CWA. After high school, she briefly attended the University of Liberia before receiving a USAID scholarship which led her to South Dakota State College, Brookings, South Dakota, USA. In 1963, upon receiving a Bachelor of Science, she went home to Liberia and worked for the Department of Education (now the Ministry of Education) as Director of Home Economics. She also hosted a weekly radio show discussing nutrition on ELBC (now ELBS). Returning to the US in 1965, Chin Chin settled in New York City (NYC) where she taught for a couple of years in the NYC Public School System before settling in the private sector at the Greenburg Graham School in Hastings-on-Hudson in 1968 as a classroom teacher and after school program director. Years later, she served with distinction as Graham School’s Union President. With a full-time teaching job and a toddler on her hands, Chin Chin went on to obtain a Master’s in Education and a Masters in School Administration from the City College of the City University of New York. In 2002, she retired from the Graham School where she was feted by the many co-workers, friends, students, and families she positively impacted along the way.
She is survived by her son, Emil Pauling, and daughter H. Amanda Sirleaf; sister, Kolu K. Baysah; her godson Warren Smith; nieces, nephews, a host of relatives and friends.
A Celebration of Life will be held at 10:00 am on Friday, November 22, 2024, at the Episcopal Church of Our Saviour, 1700 Powder Mill Road, Silver Spring, MD 20903. The service will be live streamed: https://www.youtube.com/live/HDQkt7bqbJU?si=6Q2WgqqsRJOCQWcx.
Burial Service will follow at the Maryland National Memorial Cemetery, 13300 Baltimore Avenue, Laurel, MD 20707.
Flowers and plants may be sent to: Episcopal Church of Our Saviour, 240-444-2818.
Hotels
The Comfort Inn Conference Center, 4500 Crain Highway, Bowie, MD 20716, Phone: 301-464-0089, ext. 0 (Ask for the “Pauling Family Funeral”)
Holiday Inn Express & Suites College Park-University Area – 9020 Baltimore Ave, College Park, MD 20740, Phone: (301) 441-8110
Holiday Inn Washington-College Park (I-95), an IHG Hotel – 10000 Baltimore Ave, College Park, MD 20740, Phone: (301) 345-6700
Home2 Suites by Hilton Silver Spring – 1701 Elton Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20903, Phone: (301) 965-8200
For additional information, please contact:
Emil Pauling +1 (860) 922-2335
Amanda Sirleaf +1 (914) 830-7140
