Shirley Schell

Shirley Carter Schell passed away on January 24, 2022 at the age of 95. She is survived by her children Richard Schell, Margaret Schell Thurmond, and James Schell and six grandchildren, Christopher and Ben Schell, Erik Yarmey, and Sarah, Sam, and Amy Schell. She is also survived by her daughters-in-law Jan Schell and Jane Schell and son-in-law Jerry Thurmond.

Shirley was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma on December 18, 1926. She was the second of three daughters born to James Fleming Carter and Grace Connally Carter. Shirley grew up in Tulsa and attended Tulsa public schools. Her father Fleming sold advertising to the oil industry for the Gulf Publishing Company, and the family occasionally travelled with Fleming to places like Wichita and Kansas City as he made sales calls. After graduating from Tulsa Central High School, Shirley began college at Randolph-Macon Women’s College in Lynchburg, Virginia. Shirley loved French and history, and she majored in French. Shirley later transferred to SMU after her father became ill. She wanted to be closer to Tulsa, and she joined her younger sister Mary Grace who was already a student at SMU. Shirley’s older sister Delia Beth had also graduated from SMU.

It was at SMU that Shirley met her future husband Alex Schell. Shirley and Alex graduated from SMU in 1948 and were married in September of 1948. The young couple settled in Plano, Texas where Alex joined his father in the insurance business.

In addition to being a devoted wife and mother of three children, and later “Grandma” to six grandchildren, Shirley was active in her community. She and her husband Alex were active in the First United Methodist Church of Plano where Alex served on the church administrative board and numerous committees over the years and Shirley was involved in the Methodist Women’s Circle, the church prayer group, and she sang in the church choir. Shirley also served her community as PTA president at Cox Junior High in Plano.

Shirley loved the outdoors, especially the mountains where she spent many summer vacations camping with her family in Colorado and Wyoming. She was an avid skier in her younger years and a member of the Plano Ski Club. She played tennis, bridge, and the piano, and she was a member of the Dallas Woman’s Club. Shirley was an active member of her college sorority Kappa Alpha Theta, having recently received her 75th year pin.

She returned to academic pursuits to obtain her masters degree in French at SMU and her teacher’s certificate at the University of North Texas. She taught French at Hillcrest High School in Dallas and tutored French.

Shirley’s interest in history continued throughout her adult life. She served for over 30 years on the board of the Collin County Historical Commission, and she was a charter member of the Plano Heritage Commission (formerly the Plano Historic Landmark Commission). She performed the research, writing and submission of the applications for both the Texas Historical and National Register markers for the Farrell-Wilson Heritage Farmstead Museum in Plano. She researched, wrote and submitted the application for the Texas Historical marker for the First United Methodist Church of Plano, the congregation of which dates back to 1846 or 1847. The marker was received and dedicated in 1992.

Shirley’s historical research continued with her research work and submission of the application for the Texas Historical marker for the Plano National Bank/IOOF Lodge Building in downtown Plano, now the A. R. Schell & Son Insurance Agency, and one of the oldest buildings in Plano. That marker was received and dedicated in 1993. Shirley was also a research contributor to the Texas Historical marker for the Muncey Massacre site in Plano, where early Plano settlers were killed in 1844.

Shirley’s research was meticulous. She spent many hours researching in Austin at the state archives and the UT Barker Texas History Center, and in Washington, DC at the national archives, and in Dallas at SMU in order to document what she wrote. Shirley later collaborated with several other history lovers to write two books. The first is titled “Plano, Texas – The Early Years” in which Shirley researched and wrote several chapters, including chapters on Plano’s early mercantile establishments, the Civil War era, early city government, and Plano’s postal history. The second book is titled “First United Methodist Church Plano, Texas – The First 150 Years”, which traces the history of the church from 1847 to 1997 and for which Shirley was the primary researcher.

In 2014, Shirley was honored to receive the Living Legacy Award from the Collin County Historical Commission for all her work on the history of places and events in Collin County, Texas.

Like her husband Alex, Shirley loved time with her family. She loved spending time at the family lake house on Lake Texoma. She loved the annual vacations and ski trips to Colorado. She was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and aunt and she contributed greatly to her community. She will be missed by all who knew and loved her.

Following a family burial at the Plano Mutual Cemetery, there will be a memorial service to celebrate Shirley’s life at 3:00 pm on February 8, 2022 at the First United Methodist Church of Plano, 3160 E. Spring Creek Pkwy, Plano, TX 75074. The family suggests that memorial contributions may be made to the First United Methodist Church of Plano c/o Associate Pastor Judith Reedy, 3160 E. Spring Creek Pkwy, Plano, TX 75074. Any memorials in Shirley’s name will be distributed by the church to various food banks and to the church’s samaritan’s fund for the needy.