Shirley Dorothy (Webster) Marshall

Shirley Webster Marshall went peacefully to be with the Lord on May 12, 2020 at Covenant Shores Health Center on Mercer Island at the age of 97. She was recovering at the center for two months after a brief hospital stay at Overlake Hospital due to congestive heart failure. She was able to say goodbye to her family for one precious day, as she was admitted to Evergreen Hospice 2 days prior to her passing.

Shirley was born on September 23, 1922 in Vernon, Connecticut to M. Joseph and Dorothy Fahey Webster. She was the oldest of 4 children. She leaves her sister, Elaine and her brother, David. Her brother Warren predeceased her. She is a descendent of John Webster who came over from England in 1636 and helped to settle Connecticut with Thomas Hooker and served as the fifth governor of the state of Connecticut. Shirley had a very happy childhood. In high school she helped her dad at his construction company and collected rent from tenants of the homes and apartments he had built. After graduating from Rockville High School in Rockville, CT, she worked as a secretary for the Aetna Insurance Company in Hartford, Connecticut.

In 1944 during World War II, she met her future husband, Richard Marshall, on a train as he and his twin brother were traveling to pilot training school for the Navy. She caught his eye on the train, and he followed up with a phone call to her family home some weeks later. They fell madly in love and were married on New Year's Day, 1945, at the First Methodist Church in Rockville, CT. They moved to Corpus Christi, TX during World War II when Richard served as a Navy PB-Y pilot in the South Atlantic.

After the war, they moved to Richard's hometown of Lexington, MA. Richard worked as a salesman for Allied Chemical. Richard's job took the family to Rockville, CT, Attleboro, MA, and Westfield, NJ before retiring to Bellevue, WA. Shirley worked for 10 years as an administrative assistant at Seattle Trust in Bellevue. She became a Friend of the Bellevue Library, helped set up the library store, and was honored for her volunteer work there after serving for several years. She also spent countless hours volunteering for Overlake Service League in Bellevue.

Shirley lived the last 21 years at her beloved Emerald Heights Retirement Community where she played bridge till nearly the end, enjoyed aqua aerobics, and went to many parties and on trips with her friends there. Shirley served as a deacon for decades at Bellevue Presbyterian Church and attended regularly up until March 1st, the last date people could attend church before the Covid 19 restrictions. Shirley leaves behind many treasured friends from PEO, Bellevue Presbyterian Church, Bellevue Friends of the Library, and, of course, Emerald Heights.

Shirley leaves 3 children, Doreen, Richard (Theresa), and Donald, (Susie). She also leaves behind 9 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren, and the 16th great grandbaby due in September. Her family has many treasured memories of their wonderful mother, Nana and GG.

A memorial service will not be held at this time due to the present restrictions from Covid 19. However, a Zoom Celebration of Life ceremony led by Pastor Rosiland Renshaw of Bellevue Presbyterian Church will be held in the next few weeks for family and close friends.

The family would like to thank the hard-working nurses, caregivers. and especially Scott Summers, a social worker for Covenant Shores who so lovingly took care of Shirley during her stay there. A memorial fund has been set up at Union Gospel Mission if anyone wishes to donate in Shirley's honor.