Shirley Ann Gage, a resident of New Bern, passed away on December 25, 2015. Born in Bridgeport Connecticut and raised in Westwood New Jersey, Shirley moved to Barrington Rhode Island in 1951. After winning a scholarship to Katherine Gibbs School, Shirley became a secretary at Rhode Island Hospital Trust where she met Willard H. Gage Jr. (Bill). Shirley and Bill settled in Barrington Rhode Island to raise a family and recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. Through the 1960s and 1970s Shirley dedicated her time to raising her four children and was active as a girls scout leader. In the 1970’s Shirley resumed her work as a secretary/administrator at the First Baptist church in Providence Rhode Island and the Providence Country Day School. When Bill and Shirley moved to New Bern in 1996, Shirley continued to work as a secretary at the First Baptist Church of New Bern. Shirley loved to knit and make crafts. In the last few years she was regularly seen selling her creations at the New Bern Farmers Market, where she was often asked to knit custom caps for customers.
Shirley is survived by her husband, children and grandchildren, brother and sister, including Kimberley Gage of New Bern, Lindsay, Paul, Colleen and Jimmy McGuinness of Concord Massachusetts, Lawrence, Stacey and Katie Gage of Medway Massachusetts, Willard H. Gage III of Linwood Massachusetts, Barbara Youmans of Sebastian Florida and Robert Bruce Williams and Carol Williams of the Villages, Florida. She is further survived by the many friends that she has made along the way, from Westwood to Barrington to New Bern. Her beauty and sense of humor will be greatly missed by all.
A memorial service will be held at 1 pm on January 1, 2016 at Cotten Funeral Home, 2201 Neuse Blvd., New Bern NC, 28560. Reception will follow the memorial service in the Funeral Home lobby.
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