Shirley May White

Shirley M. White passed away peacefully , at home, on June 6th 2023, after a long and arduous struggle with pancreatic cancer. Shirley was born London, England on May 5th 1949 to Alfred and Bette Roake. For much of her early life her father was in the British army and she travelled to many places including Singapore before her family emigrate to South Africa in the mid fifties.

She met her future husband, Martyn White, in October 1969 and they were married on September 26th 1970 in Johannesburg, South Africa. After spending their first two years living and working in South West Africa they left the African continent and lived briefly in the UK and Germany before emigrating to Canada in 1974, and from there to Phoenix ten years later in 1984.

Shirley went back to college and trained to become a laboratory technician. She combined work with raising two children (one severely handicapped) and still found time to dabble in her love of arts and crafts. She became a truly accomplished artist in ceramics, painting and more recently glass art. None of the art pieces were made for personal gain – she created them for personal satisfaction and donated many pieces to family and friends.

Shirley is survived by her beloved husband Martyn, her daughter Angela, her son Adam (Marci) and her two grandsons Forest and Lennox, and last but not least her two beautiful dogs Lucca and Rylee.

Memorial contributions may be made in her name to the PV Schools Foundation or the Arizona Humane Society.