Bethesda Business Honors Memory Of Slain U.S. Ambassador To Libya

One Bethesda business recently played a small role in honoring the memory of slain U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens.

Stevens, 52, was killed along with several other Americans Sept. 11 in an attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

Last Friday, Georgetown Bagelry, a bagel shop in the Kenwood Station Shopping Center, was surprised to receive an email from the U.S. Department of State. Officials asked if the bakery could provide bagels for families, officials and support staff waiting to receive the bodies of Stevens and the three other American victims at Andrews Air Force Base.

The bakery was quick to prepare and donate about 50 dozen bagels for the somber occasion, said Georgetown Bagelry owner Mary Beall Adler. “It was a privilege to be able to honor someone who has fallen and the people who are sacrificing their lives for our freedom,” Adler told Patch.

The news was first reported by Bethesda blogger Robert Dyer.

According to a Reuters report, President Barack Obama led a "transfer of remains" ceremony Friday at the base, where the bodies were returned to U.S. soil via a government plane. The bodies were then transported to a military mortuary at an air base in Dover, DE.

At the ceremony, Obama also met with families of the dead, Reuters reported.

Describing the experience on her blog, Adler said the bagels were prepared with “a lot of love.”

“It was an honor for us to be able to participate in even such a small way,” Adler told Patch. “Sometimes, it’s the little things you do that can make a difference.”