Shirley Horner, 91, passed away on October 10, 2018. Beloved mother of Charles and Neil (Susan). Devoted grandmother to James and Nicole. She was born in Brooklyn in 1926 and spent her formative years in Jersey City. She distinguished herself academically: She graduated from high school at age 16, and, at age 19, from New York University with an A.B. in English and minors in chemistry and mathematics. She went on to graduate studies in literature, following her great passion for books, at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, earning an A.M. in English and Literature; in the mid-1970’s she completed a masters in philosophy at Columbia. In her early career, she was a teacher, but in the 1970’s she would adapt her literary talents to a career in journalism, eventually authoring a regular column, “About Books,” in the New Jersey section of the New York Times for nearly 19 years, between 1977 and 1996. Shirley also authored the book Conserving Communities: Urban vs. Suburban, published in 1979, and co-edited Ladies at the Crossroads, a history of colonial women published in 1978. For her achievements, she was inducted into the New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame in 1987. In addition, her civic mindedness led her to serve as chair of the Union County Planning Board. She was married for 34 years to Robert Horner, an astroscientist who died in 1984. Always hopeful, always encouraging, Shirley will be missed for her warmth, zest for life and unstoppable curiosity.
