Mary Elizabeth Shellabarger was a Registered Nurse, army nurse overseas during World War I, and director of American Red Cross Nursing Service in Albania and Montenegro.

The Order of the Eastern Star is a Masonic appendant body open to both men and women. It was established in 1850 by lawyer and educator Rob Morris, a noted Freemason, and adopted and approved as an appendant body of the Masonic Fraternity in 1873. The order is based on some teachings from the Bible, and is open to people of all religious beliefs. It has approximately 10,000 chapters in 18 countries and approximately 500,000 members under its General Grand Chapter.