Shirley Marie Rucker

Shirley was born in 1947 in Miami, to parents Jack Rucker and Jeanie Rucker. The first of four children, she had younger siblings Julie Rucker, Diana Rucker, and Jack Rucker. The family lived in West Miami before moving in 1961 to Coral Gables. Shirley graduated from Coral Gables High School in 1965, and took preliminary courses in nursing at Miami Dade Junior College. From 1967 to 1972, Shirley was lead singer and bass player for the popular south Florida rock band The Missing Links.

Shirley married high school sweetheart Ronny Levy in 1969 in Miami, and maintained a longstanding friendship with Ronny’s brother Sandy and his wife Barbara. Shirley met and married second husband Bob Silverberg in 1975 in Miami. Shirley and Bob lived in Atlanta, Dallas, and Boston, where she graduated from Boston University in 1981 with a Bachelor of Nursing degree. Throughout this time Shirley remained close to her Florida family, and made regular trips home to visit.

Shirley met her third husband David Brundrett in Colorado while on a ski trip in 1982. Shirley and Dave were married in 1984 in Denver, where they lived through 1986, when their son Sean Brundrett was born. Shirley and her family then lived in Houston and Atlanta through the 1990s, while she supported Dave’s return to school. During that time, she traveled to Europe for a month with sister Julie, and made yearly trips to Florida to visit her parents and siblings. The family moved to Culver City California in 1997, where Shirley worked and lived through 2020. During this time, she enjoyed traveling throughout California and Mexico with Dave, made trips to Alaska and Ireland with sister Julie, and continued her regular visits to Florida. In 2020 the family returned to Denver to support Sean’s graduate schooling at Colorado State University.

Shirley was a strong, warm, giving, fun, and very funny woman. She was also fearless (there was nothing she thought she could not do), and a fierce advocate for all women her entire life. Her favorite activities were singing, dancing, going out to eat, going to the movies, and most of all, Shopping for Clothes! With California close friends Ada, Janet, and MJ, she enjoyed many happy years of weekly Mahjong games.

Shirley is survived by husband Dave, son Sean, and siblings Julie and Jack. See her Facebook page for additional photos and history.

She loved us all so much, and her life was a blessing to all who knew and loved her. She will be sorely missed.