Shirley Virginia Libby

Shirley Virginia Libby was born in Medford, Massachusetts, on October 3, 1917, the youngest of five children of Albert Henry and Helen Frances (Ryan) MacMullan. She died in Portland, Maine, March 20, 2015.

Many people, when they think of "the Greatest Generation," think only of male military veterans. Shirley was truly a member of the Greatest Generation. She had a difficult childhood, survived the Great Depression and World War II, and, with her husband, raised four devoted children. She and Vernon P. Libby hitch-hiked from Massachusetts to Maine, where they got married in May of 1935. He predeceased her in 1973. She survived her three brothers and her sister. In August, 2014, she had lived longer than her paternal grandfather, Alexander Thomas MacMullan, who she loved deeply for his kindness to her and her siblings during their childhood, and thus had lived longer than any known member of the MacMullan family.

As a child of the Great Depression she knew the value of taking care of the things the family had and was a recycler decades before that concept became "in." She took enormous pride in making sure that she kept a neat and clean home. A family friend recently recalled that every time he came to our house she was ironing. She even ironed our socks and underwear. She sent all of us to school clean and well dressed. Along with our father, she taught us to respect other people, to work hard, and to know right from wrong.

She loved to dance. She enjoyed knitting and crocheting and made many things for her family and friends, especially for babies. She also enjoyed reading, was interested in the life and times of King Henry VIII, and had a fascination with Brinks armored trucks. She treasured photographs of her family, particularly of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was an avid walker and didn't learn to drive until she was in her mid-60s. Perhaps all that walking played a part in her long and healthy life. She had a competitive spirit and looked forward to the Bingo games at the Salvation Army's Senior Center and then at the Barron Center. She loved to win, particularly to win the coverall.

As part of the celebration of her 80th birthday she traveled to Ireland and London with two of her sons. In Ireland she went to Kilmeen, the little village in County Cork where her grandmother was born. She stood in Kilmeen's Roman Catholic Church at the font where her grandmother was baptized and before the altar where her great-grandparents were married. In London she was amused by the taped message in the London Tube that warned her "To mind the gap."

She will be deeply missed by her surviving children: her daughter, Shirley J. Atwood, of Wallingford, CT; and her three sons: Gary W. Libby, of Portland, Ray A. Libby and his wife Jody A. Libby, of Portland, and Daniel P. Libby and his wife Holly L. Libby, of Westbrook; as well as her four nieces, three nephews, nine grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and five great-great-grandchildren.

A period of visitation for Shirley will be held this Wednesday, March 25 from 5 to 7 PM at the Jones, Rich & Hutchins Funeral Home, 199 Woodford St. Portland, ME; where a funeral service for Shirley will be held on Thursday, March 26 at 1:00 PM. Burial will follow at Evergreen Cemetery where she will be buried next to her late husband.

The Libby family would like to thank all of the employees at the Barron Center, 3S for their care and kindness their mother, as well as the Life Choice Hospice of Scarborough.