Mrs. Marriott and her husband, who died in 1985, personified the American dream. The nine-stool root beer stand they opened in 1927 was the beginning of Marriott Corporation, one of the world�s leading hospitality companies. Today, there are five separate companies with combined annual sales of over 20 billion dollars: Marriott International, Inc.; Host Marriott Corporation; Sodexho Marriott Services; Crestline Capital Corporation; and Host Marriott Services, which was merged with Autogrill, an Italian company, last year.

Mrs. Marriott�s oldest son, J.W. Marriott, Jr., is chairman and chief executive officer of Marriott International, Inc., while her other son, Richard E. Marriott, is chairman of Host Marriott Corporation.

Mrs. Marriott was born to Alice Taylor and Edwin Spencer Sheets in Salt Lake City, Utah, on October 19, 1907. In June 1927, at age 19, Mrs. Marriott graduated with honors from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish, and as a member of Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.

Two days after graduation, she married J. Willard Marriott, a University of Utah graduate she had met the year before. They drove across the country in a Model-T Ford to Washington, D.C., where Mr. Marriott had just opened a nine-stool AW root beer stand. She served as bookkeeper for the business. Each evening, she would take the day�s receipts, often in the form of nickels sticky from root beer, to the bank.

With the coming of fall and cool weather, root beer sales dropped off and the Marriotts looked for new ways to attract customers.  Fluent in Spanish, Mrs. Marriott talked to the chef at the Mexican Embassy and came away with recipes for chili con carne and hot tamales. After practicing for two days in their apartment, the Marriotts added the spicy food to their menu and renamed their root beer stand �The Hot Shoppe,� which quickly grew to some 65 restaurants.

Even as she was raising her two sons, Mrs. Marriott continued her hands-on involvement with the business. In 1957, on the night before the opening of the company�s first hotel, the Twin Bridges Motor Hotel in Washington, D.C., Mrs. Marriott was up for most of the night helping to hang pictures in each of the 365 guest rooms. Today, Marriott International has over 2,000 operating units in the United States and 57 other countries and territories.

In addition to her corporate responsibilities, Mrs. Marriott was active in many civic, charitable and cultural organizations. She was a trustee of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and served two 10-year terms on its board and its executive and finance committees. She also served as a member of the National Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Advisory Council, and was on the board of directors of the Metropolitan Washington chapter of the Arthritis Foundation. She received the Foundation�s first Lifetime Achievement Award.

Additionally, Mrs. Marriott served as chairman of the President�s Advisory Committee on the Arts for the Kennedy Center, and was a former member of the Women�s Committee of the National Symphony Orchestra. She also has served on the boards of directors of the Goodwill Industries Guild, National Ballet Society, International Neighbors Club, National Advisory Committee for Children and Youth, Capital Speaker�s Club, and the Welcome to Washington International Club, which she helped found.  Mrs. Marriott was a member of the Republican National Committee from 1959 to 1976. She was vice chairman and a member of the Executive Committee from 1965 to 1976, and was treasurer of the Republican National Conventions in 1964, 1968 and 1972. She served as vice chairman of the 1969 Inaugural Committee, and honorary chairman of the 1973 Inaugural Committee.  In 1974, Mrs. Marriott was awarded an honorary Doctor of Human Letters degree from the University of Utah. She received similar recognition from Mount Vernon College in 1980.

Mrs. Marriott was affiliated with Chi Omega and was a member of the American Newspaper Women�s Association, the Capitol Hill Club, the Washington Club and the 1925 F Street Club. She was named to the honorary board of the National Committee for Prevention of Child Abuse.
Mrs. Marriott and her family have been generous benefactors to young people through their support of several educational institutions. Endowments have funded the building of the Alice Sheets Marriott Center for Dance at the University of Utah, as well as the J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University. The Marriott family also established the Marriott Foundation For People With Disabilities, which has helped more than 4,000 disabled youths enter the workforce.  She was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout her life.  In addition to her two sons, J.W. Marriott, Jr. and Richard E. Marriott, Mrs. Marriott is also survived by her eight grandchildren and twenty-three great grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at the Chevy Chase Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 5460 Western Ave., Chevy Chase, Maryland at 12 noon on Thursday, April 20.
Friends may call at Gawler�s Funeral Home at 5130 Wisconsin Ave, N.W., Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, April 19 from 7-9 p.m.  In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Metropolitan Washington Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation, 4455 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C., 20008.

MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC. (NYSE: MAR) is a leading worldwide hospitality company with over 2,000 operating units in the United States and 57 other countries and territories.