Shirley was born on February 17, 1925, and raised in the Boston metropolitan area during and after the Second World War. Her parents, Richard and Camilla Thomas were originally from Lebanon at the turn of the century. As the oldest of four siblings that lived through the depression and War years of the 1940s, life was hard on her and her parents but, America became a chance for opportunity and economic success. At an early age, she had a gift and talent for music, which led her to become a candidate for the Boston Conservatory of Music. With an operatic voice of two octaves and a successful three and a half years of private training as a Coloratura Soprano, her instructors were convinced her future was guaranteed.
By the time WW2 was concluded, having met a sailor in Boston as an entertainer, she fell in love with Neal J. Johnson, and they were married on September 22, 1946. Her husband was from Greeley, Colorado and her life in the city became changed as she set about marking a home for her family on the Eastern plains of Colorado. The towns of Greeley, Fort Morgan, and Sedgwick, where she was active in the church and communities, became an accepted way of life far different from the city to which she was accustomed. As a railroader's wife, she managed to make a home in a region quite different from the culture and environment of her youth on the east coast.
Shirley was the devoted mother of four boys, David, Gene, Phillip, and Mark, including five grandchildren, Heather, Michael, Natalie, Lisa, and Christopher. As the loving mother of four boys, she set about making a home for her children in railroad housing.
Her love for Opera never ceased as her voice often filled her home with a beautiful voice despite the isolation found in places along the railroad town within North Eastern Colorado and Wyoming. As a mother, life was for her children whom she loved without reservation. Once asked why she did not continue with her music, she would say, "It just wasn't meant to be; besides, my life was for my boys." Shy and self-conscious, she did what many women who have accepted God's direction in their lives have done with little regret. Her faith was a monument to a legacy of love and acceptance that she shared with many people encountered everywhere.
Shirley was a member of St. Peter Catholic Church from the '40s until the '70s. She then became a member of St. Mary Catholic Church from the '70s until the present. She was also an active member of the church choir for many years. She loved to cook and share her food with family and friends. Her hobbies were sewing and gardening. Shirley was a very good seamstress. She was an aficionado of health foods and their benefits and worked part-time in a health food store in Greeley. She will be greatly missed.
A visitation and Rosary for Shirley will occur on Monday, August 1, 2022, from 5:00 p.m. -7:00 p.m. at Stoddard Funeral Home, 3205 W. 28th Street Greeley, Colorado, 80634. Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Tuesday, August 2, 2022, at St. Mary Catholic Church, 2222 23rd Avenue, Greeley, Colorado 80634 with burial to follow at Sunset Memorial Gardens, 3400 W. 28th Street, Greeley, Colorado 80634.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.stoddardsunset.com for the Johnson family.
