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Shirley A. Allen
Shirley A. Allen of Oracle, AZ passed away peacefully at the age of 88 on May 1, 2017 with her loving husband and children by her side. Shirley was born Dec. 6, 1928 in Hardwick, Vermont to Clayton and Mary Margaret (Durkin) Gray. She is survived by her husband James S. Allen Jr., daughters Lynn and Cynthia, sons James and Clayton, grandchildren Harley, Courtney, Nicolle, and Clayton Daniel; her siblings Winnifred La Vigne and John Gray of Tucson. She is preceded in death by her son John, her parents, and siblings Forrest, Roy, and Joan of Hardwick, Vermont.
Shirley grew up in Hardwick, Vermont and Plymouth, Connecticut. She had a love of sports and played on her high school basketball team. While attending nursing school in Burlington, Vermont she met and married James on Jan. 19, 1952. She set aside a career in nursing and became and military wife and raised her children in Vermont, California, Hawaii, and New Jersey while James served in the U.S. Air Force for 24 years. Afterwards, the Allen’s settled in No. Hollywood, California. Here she resumed her passion for nursing working as nursing assistant in a convalescence hospital until retirement.
Upon retiring Shirley and James moved to Oracle in February 1992. Here they spent the following years building their home. Shirley enjoyed attending St. Helen’s Catholic Church in Oracle, collecting rocks and shells, making crafts, and working on word puzzles. Of course, you could always catch her watching sports, especially basketball and hockey.
Shirley was as gently spirit and touched many with her kindness and generosity. She was a devoted, patient, sweet wife and the most loving, caring, and forgiving mother. Shirley’s family extends their sincere appreciation to all those friends for their love and support; and to the excellence in caring of Casa de la Luz Hospice. She was dearly loved and will be missed by all. A private family service was held on May 5, 2017.
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