OBITUARY

William Shirley

March 25, 1926 – December 26, 2020

Rev. William S. Shirley passed away on December 26, 2020. He is survived by his wife, Rosemary; his children, Matthew and his wife Gail Shirley, Sylvia and her husband Ibrahim Elsayed, and Eleanor Shirley; his grandchildren Adam (Kelli) Elsayed, Jacob Elsayed, Joshua Shirley, Shannon (Matt) Montague and Chelsea (Nick) Marler, and 6 great-grandchildren. He died of natural causes in his sleep, after suffering from dementia.

Bill Shirley believed that life is about so much more than personal wealth, comfort or accomplishment. He was a conscientious objector during WWII. He studied at Park College and attended seminary at Yale University after the war, serving as a Presbyterian minister his entire adult life. He began his work as a minister with an internship in the Appalachian coal fields, and was a proud supporter of organized labor. He was an active member of Pittsburgh Presbytery, and firmly believed in the importance of attending and participating in Presbytery meetings (he considered it part of his duty as a member of the church). He was also an early member in the NAACP and CORE and shared with his children that he once met Dr. Martin Luther King. He was an active Kiwanis member most of his adult life. He loved baseball and was a devoted fan of the New York Yankees, the Detroit Tigers and the Pittsburgh Pirates. He loved to swim, and once competed in a Masters swim relay race with his children, Matt and Ellie.

Due to Covid-19, his memorial service will be private. A webpage is available at Brandt's Funeral Home, H.P.BrandtFuneralHome.com, to post condolences or share your memories of Bill.

Also, the family requests, in lieu of flowers, donations to Light of Life Mission, http://www.lightoflife.org or the University of Pittsburgh Alzheimer Disease Research Center, https://www.adrc.pitt.edu/.

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Sylvia Elsayed

January 10, 2021

Bill and Rosie
Mother's Day 2014

Sylvia Elsayed

January 10, 2021

This was a fun day in Erie from the Summer of 2014.

Sylvia Elsayed

January 10, 2021

Dad always loved to swim and this is a picture of him and Matt at a swim meet that they both swam in along with Ellie. I think it is 2002.

Sylvia Elsayed

January 10, 2021

This was Mother's Day 2017

Sylvia Elsayed

January 10, 2021

Adam's Graduation from Slippery Rock
May 2012

Sylvia Elsayed

January 10, 2021

One of our last Family Vacations when Dad still was able to travel. We all went to Williamsburg in 2010.

Sylvia Elsayed

January 10, 2021

The whole clan at Jake's 13th Birthday
Ellie, Dad, Sylvia, Kelli, Mom, Adam and Jake

Sylvia Elsayed

January 10, 2021

Mom, Dad and Sylvia
This picture is from Jake's 13th Birthday Party.

Sylvia Elsayed

January 10, 2021

This picture is from Thanksgiving 1999. My Dad loved his grandchildren and the feeling was mutual. This is one of my favorite pictures of the 3 of them.

Eleanor Shirley

January 10, 2021

Sylvia Churgin (Rosie's college and lifelong friend from Syracuse University), Bill and Rosie, just after moving to Pittsburgh in 1980.

FROM THE FAMILY