Shirley Ann McGrath

Shirley Ann McGrath, beloved mother, grandmother, and aunt, passed away on October 5th, 2022 in Williamsburg, Virginia. She was born in Greencastle, Indiana on August 17th, 1929 to Carl and Erma Stewart, and graduated from Saranac Lake High School, New York, in 1946. Entering Cornell University on full scholarship, she graduated in 1950 with a BA in Mathematics with Distinction and became a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Subsequently, she earned an MS degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Industrial Psychology in 1969.

She applied her mathematical skills for both General Electric in Schenectady, where she met her first husband, Stanley Beran, and as an analyst and network designer for the Bell Telephone Company, in Albany, New York. She moved with her second husband, CDR James McGrath USN, to Anchorage Alaska in 1970, where she lived until 2008, before moving to Williamsburg, Virginia. In the Last Frontier, she developed deep passions for the environment and genealogy, and served in numerous organizations, including the Anchorage Women’s Club, the Navy League, and the Air Force Association.

For over two decades she was a Cornell recruiter, attracting many Alaskans to educational opportunities outside the state, and maintained lifelong friendships as Cornell’s ‘ambassador’. She was a long-time leader in the Alaska Fly Fishers association and was a well-respected fly fisher and fly tier whose experience was sought inside and outside the state. Beyond bear viewing in Alaska, and bird watching across the U.S., Shirley photographed wildlife in Central America, the South Pacific, and Antarctica, and energetically supported organizations seeking to preserve natural habitats worldwide. She was active in many genealogical and historical organizations, including the Daughters of the American Revolution, The Mayflower Society, The Huguenot Society of America, The Plantagenet Society, and the Magna Charta Dames.

She is survived by her son, Philip Beran; grandsons, Zachary and Forrest; great-granddaughter, Morgan; and nieces and nephew, Ellen Young, Margaret Huntoon, and John Erdmann, as well as numerous great nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held on January 18th at 9:00 am at the Old Post Chapel, Ft. Myer, Virginia, followed by burial at Arlington National Cemetery. Donations may be made to the Ornithology Laboratory of Cornell University (https://give.birds.cornell.edu/page/87895/donate/) and to Alley Cat Allies (https://www.alleycat.org/).