They’re the Mary Matalin and James Carville of Vantage House. She’s a Republican and campaigned for Barry Goldwater. He’s a Democrat and chaired Iowa’s Citizens for Kennedy.

Now in their 80s, Elizabeth and Don Shaw moved from Iowa to Vantage House to be closer to their daughter and grandchildren in Chevy Chase. Both attorneys, they left behind active political lives. She was elected to the Iowa State Senate twice and served as County Attorney. One of her proudest accomplishments was “helping to put in a new criminal code for Iowa.”

Don, a World War II veteran, encouraged her to run for office. “He drew the little elephant for my first campaign letter,” she says. Meanwhile, he was appointed to the Board of Regents, which oversaw all of the state universities in Iowa.