Shirley Shaver

Shirley Robinson Shaver, 88, a long-time resident of the Greensboro - High Point - Colfax area, passed away on Saturday, November 26, 2016 at the River LandingSandy Ridge Retirement Community in Colfax, NC.

Shirley was born in Roanoke, Virginia on January 7, 1928 to Henry and Fannie Robinson. She began music lessons at age seven. By the time she was 17, she was playing piano for fashion shows at Hotel Roanoke; for children's talent shows; for a Roanoke department store, and also on live radio with radio station WDBJ.

On January 7, 1947, Shirley married her childhood sweetheart, Gerald (Jerry) Shaver. In August, 1948, they moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, where Shirley managed the sheet music department of a Raleigh music store and where Jerry entered NC State University. Upon Jerry's graduation from NC State, they moved to Greenville, SC; then to Gainesville, GA; then to South Boston, VA; and then to Clarksville, VA for Jerry's textile-engineering work with Burlington Industries.

While in Clarksville, Shirley and Jerry immersed themselves in raising money to build a new state-of-the-art Dixie Youth baseball field for the community. The fund-raising was successful, and the new park was built in 1966. In 1970, Shirley and Jerry moved to Greensboro, NC, when Jerry was hired by Brame Industries. In 1972, in honor of their work supporting the youth baseball program in Clarksville, VA, the Clarksville Dixie Youth Park that they helped build was named Shaver Field.

Greensboro was Shirley and Jerry's home until their move to River Landing at Sandy Ridge in Colfax, NC in 2003. Shirley and Jerry were very active at River Landing, from golf to bingo to River-Landing-hosted bus-travel, to fund-raising for River Landing facility improvements and especially fund-raising for River Landing's Employee Appreciation Fund. They also were both active in Hospice, volunteering for Greensboro-and-High-Point area Hospice for over a decade.

Throughout almost all of Shirley's time at River Landing, she loved playing the piano for River Landing events, especially for sing-a-longs for residents of the River Landing Memory-Care unit. Jerry passed away on March 23rd, 2011.

Shirley is survived by her son, Gary; her son, Stephen and his wife Karen; her daughter, Suzanne; her grandson, Daniel; her granddaughter, Alicia; and a favorite dog and companion, Chloe.

Shirley's body has been donated to Wake Forest University's Bowman Gray Center for medical education research, as was Jerry's.

A Service of Remembrance and Celebration of Life will be held at River Landing At Sandy Ridge, Colfax, NC, on Tuesday, December 27, 2016, at 2:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Employee Appreciation Fund at River Landing, 1575 John Knox Drive, Colfax, NC 27235, or to Clarksville Dixie Youth Baseball for Shaver Field, P.O. Box 522, Clarksville, VA, 23927.

Hanes Linesberry North Elm Chapel is assisting the Shaver Family, and on-line condolences may be made to www.haneslineberryfuneralhomes.com.