Shirley Ann (Benton) Shine

Shirley Shine of Peabody, MA passed away quietly in her sleep Thursday evening, September 25.  She was 93.  More than anything, Shirley loved to laugh and had a wicked sense of humor.   She relished long walks on Moody Beach in Wells, Maine and on the Marginal Way in Ogunquit, Maine with long time friends, spending time with new friends made at the many temp jobs she held over the years and from her many winters spent in Deerfield Beach, Florida with her husband, and at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in Boston where she retired from.  An avid reader, she was a frequent visitor to the Melrose Public Library in Melrose, MA, where she lived with her family for three decades.  Shirley was a fan of mysteries, both in print and on TV.  She loved Columbo, Luther, and Mystery! on PBS, and even Twin Peaks.  She loved music, too, from the Ink Spots to Frank Sinatra to Tom Jones and Simon & Garfunkel.  Shirley was a keen card player, especially fond of Canasta. More than anything she was a loving mother, wife, daughter, sister and friend, no matter what obstacles life presented her.   

 She was preceded in death by her husband of 68 years, Francis W. Shine, her beloved sister, Eileen Edmundson, and her best friend since childhood Louise Bertini. Shirley is survived by her four children: Cathleen and Mary-Beth, both of New York, William and his wife Claudia of Wakefield, and Christopher, of Badalona, Spain, and several neices, nephews and friends.   

As her 1950 Malden High School yearbook caption read, she was “the petite brunette with the sweet smile”.   

Graveside service will be held on Wednesday, October 1 at 11:30 am (gather at 11:15am at the main gate) at Puritan Lawn Memorial Park, Lake St. Peabody, MA, 01960.

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