Shirley Neely-Turpin passed away peacefully on January 29, age 87, surrounded by her family at Estes Park Health. Shirley was born on November 15, 1935, in Linden, Virginia, daughter of a coal miner and part time farmer and his wife.She was the last child in a family of eight, born seven years after number seven. She grew up in the rural area near the town of Appalachia and graduated from Appalachia High School. Four years later she graduated from Union College in Barbourville, Kentucky where she met and married G.Warren Darling. During her college summers she performed in the theatrical production Wilderness Road at Berea College.
Shirley then began using her degree in Speech, Drama and English as a secondary teacher, first in Malden, Massachusetts, and then for 25 years in East Islip on Long Island. She and Warren had a daughter, Elizabeth, and a son, James. At East Islip she helped produce a variety of dramas.
In 1976 she married longtime colleague and friend Arthur Turpin. Among other things, they enjoyed 11 years of sailing in the waters between Long Island and Massachusetts. After Shirley's retirement in 1990 they moved to Colorado, and in 1993 to Estes Park. She worked as a volunteer at the Estes Park Medical Center, became and remained an active member of the Estes Park Women's Club, serving as President in 2010-2011. She also began a musical adventure, taking piano lessons and becoming quite proficient on the mountain dulcimer, playing with the High Country Strings and the Mountain Music Makers. Shirley enjoyed shopping, especially for stylish clothes, and also lunching with her many pals, but most of all she enjoyed her family. She had a very special way of bringing out joy and love in people.
She is survived by her ex-husband Warren of Boulder, and her husband Arthur of Estes Park; daughter Elizabeth Wager of Lafayette and her husband Jerry, and Jim Darling of Broomfield and his wife, Amy; also stepson Mark Turpin of Simsbury, Connecticut and his partner, Marie Lorenzo; and lastly six grandchildren who she much loved as they loved her.
Contributions made be made in her honor to the Elizabeth Guild of Estes Park.
A celebration of life gathering will be scheduled at a later date.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.allnuttestespark.com for the Neely-Turpin family.
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