February 27, 1955 – April 8, 2019
Shirley Ann Prease was born Shirley Ann Thompson on February 27, 1955, the 4th of 13 children. When she was a child she was studious, quiet, and shy. Shirley played the clarinet in the band, and played basketball and went swimming as a teen. She enjoyed being around her family and looked forward to visiting with her Grandma Cumire while she was young. Shirley was a bookworm and a very good student. She lived a fulfilling life and loved life and others.
Shirley lit up a room when she entered. She was beautiful, but more than that, she had a smile on her face, and was always warm and inviting to others. When she talked to you, she made it seem like there was nothing more that she would rather do than listen to what you had to say. Shirley had character and integrity.
Melvin and Shirley married on May 5, 2005. When you saw one of them, you saw the other. They were inseparable. She worked at Kimberly-Clark Corporation for 30 years as a Materials Analysis Coordinator, and never missed a day of work for those entire 30 years. That speaks volumes for her dedication and loyalty.
She had a passion for music, in any form. Line dancing with the Las Vegas FanciDancers, Chicago Stepping, and Ballroom Dancing were some of the things that she cherished. Shirley just enjoyed dancing!
Traveling was another love for her. Together, Shirley and Melvin went on Mr. Smooth’s Annual Jazz Cruise. They went to Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Venice, Hawaii, Dubai, India, Abu Dhabi, and Oman, among other places. She loved cruising. One of her favorite places was Oceanside California. Another was Myrtle Beach. Both places she treasured because she enjoyed the ocean so much - Hence the nickname for her by Melvin was “O.C.” (which stood for ocean).
In addition to all of these things, she liked to go to the casinos and play video poker, and enjoyed watching entertainment shows. You could almost always hear music playing when she was at home, and while she was in the hospital, one of the nicest smiles was when she could hear music provided by Melvin from their playlist on the Ipad.
Shirley Ann Prease believed that you should be grateful for every day here, on earth, and should live life to the fullest. She did that.
