Shirley Mae Collis

Shirley Mae Collis passed away with loving family at her side in the early hours of December 9 2024, at Veterans Memorial Lodge in Victoria BC. Pre-deceased by her husband of fifty-seven years, Douglas Collis (1921-2009), and her daughter Gail Tulloch (1954-2002), Shirley leaves behind five surviving children (Alvin, David, Nancy, Dallas and Stephen), fourteen grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. Born in Victoria BC in 1931 to a family already residing on Vancouver Island for three generations, Shirley married young and raised a sprawling island family of her own. Her life’s second act was extraordinary: Shirley started university in the late 1960s, completing bachelor and masters degrees in early childhood education, and was a kindergarten teacher in Victoria for 15 years. Retirement included a long trip around the world (riding the Trans-Siberian Railway across the Soviet Union, and canoeing the Thames river from its source in the Cotswolds to London), and many happy years at Shawnigan Lake. But the true passion of her later years was embroidery: Shirley studied in Japan and the United States, mastering traditional Japanese silk embroidery, and taught embroidery classes in Victoria and around the world. Her happiest days were spent “stitching” for hours on end, or presiding over the chaos of a vast family dinner. Her many works of embroidery are true artworks and a lasting legacy. A private service will be held for family members in the New Year.