Dear Shirley,
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
I moved to Plymouth in 2008, finding myself renting the College View flat below the affable, endearing, indomitable and sedate, Miss Paterson (it took a little while before I was granted the permission to call her Shirley!)
Shirley had a great love for her late parents and always spoke of them in respectful and warm tones.
Shirley was exceptionally knowledgeable on many subjects, always writing something, researching something, attending a meeting, taking minutes or agreeing to do something for someone!
I remember the first time I watched Shirley leave the flat to go off on one of her many errands. In my head I would hear the sprightly harpsichord strains of Ron Goodwin's Miss Marple theme (c.1960; Dame Margaret Rutherford). I'd imagine Shirley swinging a tweed cape about her, square her shoulders and off she'd go.
The 2008 cold winter prompted me to buy Shirley a black & white doggy draught blocker - she would tease that doggy required a blanket as she didn't want him to be cold!
Shirley and I lost contact sometime around the start of 2018. Today, 2 June 2022, Shirley popped in to my head, prompting me to Google to see if she was still resident at the address.
To see that Shirley had been in a Nursing Home and died so recently has upset me deeply.
A busier bee I have not know. Yet, Shirley always had time, was always caring, gentle, polite and softly spoken. God bless you and rest you, Shirley, you were such a kind and lovely lady. Thank you for time.
Clive
Requiescat in Pace +
(The information regarding Shirley's death states she was 88 - yet in 2008, I am sure she told me that she was 80, meaning she was 94! And if Shirley was 88, then it's incredible that she was 74 when I moved in?)
Clive Stanley-Williams
02/06/2022
