Shirley Stannard (9 Oct 1938 - 14 Jul 2018)

In loving memory of Shirley Stannard who sadly passed away on 14th July 2018

Shirley was born in Milnrow Lancashire in 1938 less than a year before WW2. Her parents were Robert & Emily Leaver.
She loved the winter of 1947 as the snow came up to her bedroom window and it seemed to last forever. They dug tunnels and passages in the snow to get to each others houses and the outside toilets!
When Shirley was 9 her mother gave birth to her brother Alan who sadly died after 15 minutes and we are sure that they are together now.
Shirley attended Heywood Grammar School obtaining 5 'o' levels then went on to work in the office of her local engineering works whilst studying in the evenings at Rochdale Technical College.
Shirley worked there for 7 years during which time she met her husband Stan. They moved to Rochdale and she started working at Hawker Siddley Aviation in Middleton nr Manchester. They then moved to Wallasey, Cheshire due to Stan's job and Shirley got a secretarial job at the Rank Hovis factory where she could buy freshly baked bread for a penny.
In 1963 they moved to Bedford where after renting a flat for 2 years they bought their first house together where they lived for 24 years. While living there she worked as a P.A. to the managing director of a firm who owned 26 supermarkets and shops. She stayed there for 7 years until she left to have her son Mark.
When Mark was growing up they went on plenty of family holidays mainly in caravans and tents. They went all over the UK including Wales, Selsey Bill and Woollacombe having a great time.
For the Queens Silver Jubilee a lot of the friends and neighbours got together and hired the local Scout hut where they had a huge party.
Shirley worked at the infant school and the middle school as Mark was growing up which she got to go on plenty of school trips, including a canal trip, trips to London and Woburn to see the animals.
In 1984 they moved to Lincolnshire into a bungalow at Ulceby Cross near Alford and Shirley started working at the Embassy Centre at Skegness where she worked her way up to Box Office Manager. During that time she met around 200 stars and clearly loved the job. After 14 years she retired on her 60th birthday. Her next adventure was travelling abroad with Stan and Mark. They visited Hong Kong, Thailand and China amongst other places. Shirley also went to India with Mark but Stan was too ill to go. After this Stan & Shirley still managed to go on plenty of holidays mainly around Spain.
Stan sadly passed away in June 2001, 3 months before Mark & Becky's wedding. It must of been an emotional year for her. Stan told her to continue with her holidays so she did exactly what he said & had a non stop holiday in Southern Ireland. She also really loved her trip to London for 66th birthday with Mark & Becky.
The travelling continued & over the next few years visited Italy, Spain, San Fransisco, L.A, Hollywood, The Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Sri Lanka & Cuba and other places.
In 2004 Shirley moved to her bungalow in Boston where she remained busy with several groups such as the Church, Keep Active & U3A.
Her last holiday abroad was to Italy in 2015 with Mark, Becky, Corben & Eloise.

She is survived by her son Mark, Daughter In Law Becky, grandchildren Amie, Corben & Eloise & great granddaughter Freyja.

The funeral is at Boston Crematorium on Wednesday 1st August at 11:30am and the wake is at The Railway Pub PE21 7EQ
Donations to The Pituitary Foundation, a charity close to Shirley's heart.