Shirley Jane (Bridges) Rettew

Shirley Jane Bridges Rettew was born January 3, 1940, to Herbert L. Bridges and Gladys R. Bridges of Pensacola, Florida, as the second sibling to Dorothy Corbett and Carolyn Clements. Shirley was a beloved student, teacher, wife, homemaker, mother, nurse, and grandparent. She was a member of St. Anne Catholic Church and participated in many of its programs and functions.

As a student, Shirly graduated Valedictorian of her 1957 Pensacola High School class and with honors at Pensacola Junior College and the University of Florida where she earned her bachelor’s degree in education and met her husband, Chuck.

Shirley began her teaching career in Pensacola where she lived at home with the family. When her marriage to Charles Rettew took her to Naples, Florida, in 1963, it was the beginning of a seven-year tour of four south Florida counties that included the birth of their daughter Linda Christine Rettew (Kirk) in Hollywood, Florida, on June 18, 1969. The Rettews returns to Pensacola the following June.

After settling at 10035 Beulah Road in 1971, Shirley taught at Beulah Elementary for a year prior to the birth of her second daughter, Elizabeth Anne Rettew (Steck). With two youngsters at home, Shirley could still find time to substitute teach and work in the church’s CCD program.

Shirley learned how to can and freeze the vegetables and fruits from the garden and she sharpened her sewing skills and participated in 4-H activities with the kids through the 1970s while maintaining an active social and spiritual life.

As the children were maturing into the 1980s, Shirley went back to school and earned a degree in nursing at Pensacola Junior College. She began a new career at Baptist Hospital as a registered nurse on night shift so that she could better accommodate her children and family.

Throughout her married life, Shirley remained a devoted home-maker, spouse, and spiritual confidant. She maintained the books and paid the bills. After a serious illness in 2002, she decided to join her husband Chuck in retirement.

Shirley died February 7, 2023, in Homestead Village Memory Care Unit where she was being treated for Dementia and other problems. She will be missed by all who knew her.

A funeral service for Shirley will be held Monday, February 20, 2023 at 11:00 AM at Bayview Fisher-Pou Chapel, 3351 Scenic Highway, Pensacola, FL 32503.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.BayviewFisher-PouChapel.com for the Rettew family.