Shirley Kennedy Thorne

She attended DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, majoring in home economics and belonging to the Delta Delta Delta sorority. She became a dietitian after training at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, where she met her future husband, Texas pediatrician Dr. Lansing Stephen Thorne. They married in Cincinnati and then lived in Juneau, Alaska, where he served in the Public Health Service.

They moved to Austin for the next nearly six decades of their lives together. Shirley was a devoted wife, homemaker, mother, and grandmother. She loved filling her mid-century modern home with treasures, supporting children's education, planting seeds, writing letters, clipping coupons, rooting for the football underdog, volunteering at the Junior League Thrift Shop, keeping her calendar, and feeding the birds. As well she loved all things Irish, nativity scenes, garage sales, photos, bridge and sewing clubs, the fragrance of gardenias, the sound of a windchime, toasts at happy hour, Andy Williams songs, trips with full itineraries, and meals with friends and family. She had a long and well-lived life and she will be missed.

Shirley was preceded in death by her parents Nora and Charles Kennedy, her sister Ruth Langgood, sister- and brother-in-law Betty and Clifford Thorne, and her loving husband Lansing. She is survived by her daughter Ellen Thorne Skrak and beloved granddaughter Madeline Thorne Skrak of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The Skrak family wishes to thank the staff of the Arbour at Westminster Manor. Their kindness and attentiveness during the last several years of Shirley's life made it easier for Ellen to be a state away. The family also thanks Dr. Michael Pellegrini and Buckner Hospice.

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 am on July 7 at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, 3201 Windsor Road, with a reception afterward at the Westminster Solarium, 4100 Jackson Avenue at 12:15 pm. The family asks that those desiring to make contributions in her honor consider a donation to the church.