William H. Shirey

      William H. Shirey was a modest man, quiet and observant in his ways. He was trustworthy and traditional in his approach to his life and in his relationships. He was tough-minded with the kind of “stick to it” attitude that earned the respect of all who knew him. He was also a man who was meticulous, carefully disciplined, and orderly in virtually everything he undertook. Realistic about life, he was always at the ready, prepared to take on responsibility.

      William was born on March 12, 1927 at at home in Layton, Pennsylvania in Layton, Pennsylvania. His parents were Alpha Elijah Shirey and Clara Mae Hamilton Shirey. William was raised in Layton and Mekeesport, Pennsylvania. He was brought up to be self-confident and dependable. These were traits that would serve him well throughout his life.

      Growing up in the Shirey household was a bit different than most homes. There were good times to be had, but just as often there was a fair share of challenges as well. However, William was able to work through the usual family problems when they appeared, and he was the one person in the family who seemed able to keep the stress at bay. William was raised with three siblings. He had two older brothers, John and Don, and one older sister Grace. William was constantly involved in activities with his brothers and sisters. William and his siblings may have had the typical rivalries while growing up but William was always consistently loyal to his family.

      As a young child, William was never someone who needed to be the center of attention. He wasn’t pushy and never forced his way into games or other activities. William developed a variety of interests, though, and the things he enjoyed doing he did well. He was always curious about the world around him and was often eager to explore it. William took part in basketball and baseball. In his spare time he liked to make model cars and volunteer at the YMCA. William's memorable achievements included. However, what William enjoyed most was simply playing and spending time with his many friends.

      While his teachers and even his friends generally thought of William as being a serious person, he managed to have a pretty good time in high school as he made that critical transition from adolescence to adulthood. He graduated from Makeesport High School in 1944. He enjoyed some courses more than others, having favorite classes and teachers. His favorite class in high school was Math. The teacher he enjoyed learning from the most was August M. Schad. He was the president of the John Shaw Memorial Hi-Y Service Club. Their aim was to create, maintain, and extend throughout the school and community high standards of Christian character, He was also a motion picture operator. William was a very logical person who enjoyed learning about factual information. Using his exceptional memory, he was able to learn much through observation. William always seemed to have a command of the facts and was able to make it seem as though he could easily master any problem that might be presented to him.

      College life brought with it a new set of challenges, but William handled them well. Being a critical thinker who always remained intellectually independent, William was able to focus on the task at hand in order to complete his class work. He seemed to thrive on college reading assignments, something that often bogged down his classmates. William was able to read the material and retain the information in a way that impressed his fellow classmates. The ability to efficiently complete the task at hand was a skill that served William well during his college experience. He earned his B. S. In Civil Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. His favorite courses were Mathematics and Engineering. Before college, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps, and served in WWII. He entered college after the war, married and started a family.

       Compassionate and devoted to Sara-Margaret, her nickname was "Penny", William held endearing, traditional values about marriage and family life. He took the responsibility of marriage to heart, giving it his total commitment. He was a source of strength to Sara-Margaret, her nickname was "Penny" and using his gifts at nurturing one-on-one relationships, he worked hard to make his new family happy.

      William brought the same traditional values in his marriage to bear on how he raised his children. He was a good parent to them, always firm yet fair in his dealings. He would always listen carefully and think things through before he acted, even when it was an adverse situation. William was also a walking schedule, always seeming to know what everyone in the family needed to do, where they needed to be and when they needed to be there. William was blessed with four children, four sons, John C., William H. "Jr", Richard T., and Scott P. They were also blessed with six grandchildren, Katy, Penelope, Abigail, Mariclare, Griffin and Nick.

      William greatly enjoyed what he did for a living. He was a hard worker who expected the same in return from his co-workers. He was skilled at working effectively in small groups and in one-on-one situations as well as handling solo assignments efficiently. William enjoyed dealing with concrete ideas and could penetrate any amount of fuzzy information to reach the essential facts. Always able to attend to the task at hand, William was excellent at meeting deadlines. He was an efficient worker, one who paid careful attention to detail, allowing sufficient time to complete one task before moving on to the next. His primary occupation was Geodesist, Geodetic Survey Engeneering. He was employed for 35 years as a civil engineer working for the Army, He began with he Inter- American Heodetic Survey, then was loaned to NASA due to his expertise with digital photography. He helped plan landing sited on the moon and finished as a section head for the Defense Mapping Agency. William worked hard to be a team player, doing what was necessary in order to get the job done.

      William was a Veteran with the Army Air Sorps. He was honorably discharged. He was in the Army Air Corps from 1944 - 1946 in Europe and Germany. William saw action for WWII. Through his hard work and dedication, he achieved the rank of Sergeant. He received praise for his valor, including being awarded Army of Occupation Medal, World War II Victory Medal. A literal thinker who possessed a calm exterior, William seemed to enjoy the routines set forth by the military. His results-oriented approach to things made him committed to the job, and he understood well his role in serving his country.

      William liked to experience things first-hand as well as learn about them. This trait carried over into his hobbies, where he was very methodical in how he organized his activities and categorized things. Since he enjoyed his private time, William always tried to allocate a specific time for working on his hobbies. His favorite pursuits were bridge and working in the dirt to grow food. HE grew tomatoes, corn, beans, peppers, melons, blueberries and rasberries. He loved to garden, can and make jam. William was content to enjoy his hobbies alone but was also willing to share his interests with others.

      William found pleasure in sports. Being a person who was comfortable making win/lose decisions throughout life, he could appreciate that athletes made those types of decisions in sports. He applauded those who won, and he enjoyed the statistical data and sports facts and could find himself wrapped up in those details. He would watch his favorite sporting events whenever he got the opportunity. Tops on his list were baseball and college football and basketball.

      Many organizations were grateful to have William as a member, since he always brought with him a “stick to it” attitude and a high degree of common sense. Using straightforward methods to successfully complete the job, William was a great planner who was incredibly well organized. It seemed that he was able to schedule any event or activity with ease. He always seemed to know exactly what needed to be done. In high school, William was a member of the John Shaw Memorial Hi-Y Service Club. He also helped out at the YMCA. In college, William joined the served as a counselor at the YMCA amp and worked as a lifeguard. Throughout his later years, William was an active member of the Indian River Lions Club and Calvary Methodist Church.

      As a man who always showed great commitment to the things he believed in, it’s little wonder that William was so active in his community. Being practical and mentally disciplined, William preferred to base his decisions on first-hand experiences. William was never afraid to roll up his sleeves and dig right in. William was a member of several community groups, including he helped found the Aloma Methodist Church in Winter Park, Florida, and served as Treasurer.

      William was a man who was dedicated and devoted to his faith. He was activewith Methodist Churches in Panama, Winter Park, Florida, and Acme, Pennsylvania. During that time, he was a Treasurer and Sunday school teacher. He was a sympathetic man who valued his beliefs and was willing to work tirelessly for them.

      William sought out practical solutions, not individual recognition. He was always grounded and objective, feeling a strong sense of responsibility for taking care of what needed to be done. This selfless attitude earned William many accolades for his efforts and achievements. Some of his most prestigious awards included ones from the Defense Mapping Angency in 1984 for an Outstanding Performance Award. A second one for Sustained Superior Accomplishment, and a Certificate of Service for 35 years of service.

      William enjoyed traveling and taking vacations. Since he was an early starter and had a knack for planning everything, traveling with William appeared effortless. He enjoyed researching all of his examined options and applying cost-effective planning techniques. Plus, no matter where he traveled, William always had a back up plan at the ready, just in case. Favorite vacations included annual summer trips home to Pittsburgh and taking the family for week long stays to cabins in Virginia State Parks.

      William was a lover of animals and cherished his pets. One of William’s favorites was Autumn Gold, his Boxer. They were best friends for from her birth to Goldie until her death during retirement, 14 years. His family was rounded out by a procession of boxers: Ciindy, Princess, Jinx, Goldie and Autumn.

      When William’s retirement finally arrived in 1985, he was well prepared. He always trusted and placed value in what was logical and in the things he knew, so he was very confident in planning his retirement. He had begun the process early and had his retirement all laid out well in advance. His new life involved relocating home to Pennsylvania to becomea gentleman farmer in Acme, PA. In retirement, he found new pleasure in joining the Lions Club, umpiring Little League Baseball, and teaching at Calvary Methodist Church. Even in retirement, William continued to stay in touch with his old friends while making plenty of new acquaintances. He was active in his new community and felt fulfilled.

      William H. Shirey passed away on October 25, 2018 at Lexington Rehabilitation Hospital in Richmond, Virginia. He passed away from Parkinson's Disease, a degenerative neurological disease in which he battled for years. He is survived by his four sons, John, William, Richard and Scott; and five grandchildren, Katy, Penelope, Abigail, Mariclare and Nick Shirey. Services were held at Woody Funeral Home on Parham Road in Richmond, Virginia. William final request was to be cremated and his ashes spread into a river that fows to the ocean.

      Commitment is a key word that can be used to describe the life of William H. Shirey. He was committed to living the life of a good man who was both practical and trustworthy. He was committed to the traditional values that he upheld his entire life. He committed himself to being a hard worker who expected the same effort in return from those around him. Most of all, he was committed to those he knew and loved.

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SHIREY, William Hamilton, 91, passed away peacefully after a brief illness to be with his Lord on October 25, 2018. He was preceded in death by his parents, Alpha Elijah Shirey and Clara Hamilton Shirey; his wife, Sara-Margaret Pennington Shirey; his sister, Grace Patton, brother, John Shirey; and grandson, Griffin Shirey. He is survived by his brother, Don; his four sons, John (Sher), William (Charlotte), Richard (Rosemary) and Scott Shirey; five grandchildren, Kathryn, Penelope, Abigail, Mariclare and Nick Shirey; six nieces and nephews, Debbie and DJ Shirey, Deanna (Shirey) Poole, Van (Georgia) and Jan Shirey, Nancy (Patton) Focht.

Will was born in Layton, Pa., an unincorporated community in Fayette County, on March 12, 1927. Will was the youngest of four children of Alph and Clara Shirey. Layton was the site of a large brickworks. From there the Washington Run Railroad carried bricks into Pittsburgh via the B&O Railroad. Alpha worked as a conductor on the railroad. Clara was a country girl whose father ran the local country store. The Shireys moved to East McKeesport when Will was two and regularly returned to the country to visit family, farm and play.

Will grew up in a family of faith. He was baptized in the Methodist church. His mother, Clara, led a women’s Sunday School class for over 20 years. As a child growing up in the depression and war years, he learned to make do with what he had and never had any complaints. We learned later that his nickname as a young boy was “Bull” (short for bull-headed). He explained that it was because he would not do what his brothers or others wanted him to do. During his high school/war years, though he loved baseball, he did not have time for sports while he worked at the YMCA. Will was a slender young boy when he graduated at 17 from East McKeesport High School in 1944 and answered the call to serve in WWII. He immediately enlisted in the military, following his two older brothers before him. Will enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corp, the predecessor to the U.S. Air Force, which became a separate military service in 1947. He was sent to Penn State for ROTC/boot camp in the fall of 1944 and then on to Europe.

He never shared much about his military experience, which he described as a private on guard duty much of the time. But on rare occasions he shared about his experience coming upon a concentration camp and the deep impact those and other sights he witnessed. Will rose to the rank of Sergeant by the time of his honorable discharge in the fall of 1946.

After the war Will enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh and studied civil engineering. While at Pitt and working at the YMCA he met his wife, Sara Margaret Pennington. They married and lived with his in-laws while attending Pitt and having the first of four sons. Upon graduation in 1950, he became a map maker. He joined the Inter-American Geodetic Survey division of the U.S. Defense Mapping Agency. He re-located to Panama and spent the next 10 years surveying South American countries on the ground, assisting those countries in making maps of their countries. In 1965 because of his strong experience in mapping and field survey operations, he was lent to NASA in Washington D.C., to support their mapping of the moon and planning landing sights. Following his time at NASA he moved to the Defense Mapping Agency (DMA) in Bethesda. The DMA supports the military worldwide with up to date maps.

The family remembers over Thanksgiving in 1979 Will being called in to go to work at the Mapping Agency. It was unusual for him to work on a holiday though he occasionally worked on a weekend. Later we learned he was part of a team making fresh maps for what was to become Operation Eagle Claw, the Iranian hostage rescue mission of April 1980.

After Will retired in 1985, he returned to Southwest Pennsylvania near where he was born. He farmed, volunteered as a baseball umpire in the local little league and was active with the Lions Club. He was active for many years in teaching Sunday School, supporting and expanding the local Methodist churches.

The family will receive friends from 4 to 7 p.m. on November 1, 2018, at Woody Funeral Home, 1771 N. Parham Rd., Richmond, 23229. A celebration of the life of William H. Shirey will also be held at Woody Funeral Home on November 3, 2018, at 3 p.m. In lieu of flowers the family suggests donations to the American Diabetes Association.