Shirley Smith Dunlap

SIDNEY – Shirley Smith Dunlap, 92, died on August 7, 2024. She was born in Waterville in 1932 and lived the first half of her life in Norridgewock. Then Shirley and her husband, Harold, moved to Sidney, where she lived for nearly 50 years. Harold died in 2019 ending a wonderful 71-year marriage. Although she was never the fix-it or the financial director in the marriage, she adapted when she had to. In her late eighties, she learned about, and handled, the household finances, and became handy enough to live on her own for years. She never quite mastered the computer but did have a cell phone and became proficient in the use of the tv remote (no easy task).

Shirley had a large extended family, being one of five children. She became quite self-sufficient early of necessity, helping raise her younger siblings since both of her parents worked. She became then, and remained, a wonderful cook. Her general cooking was fantastic, but among her two children, and her twenty-one nieces and nephews, her four siblings, and her four grandchildren, her cakes, and especially pie crusts (perfect every time), were legendary. They do not know it yet, but her ten great-grandchildren missed out on something special, never having tasted her dessert cooking.

Very high on her list of favorite things were family gatherings and holiday dinners. She would, almost single-handedly, put on incredible feasts for large numbers of people without a hitch. Until very recently, she would accept only limited help in her kitchen on these occasions. Anyone who has tried to put on a big event involving the preparation and serving of food to many people knows the skill, dedication, and determination it takes. Shirley had all that, and more.

When her kids were young, she worked at Riverside Market in Norridgewock, which was as far as the kids were concerned, the best job ever, with a penny candy after school every day. She moved on and worked for LaVerdiere’s Drug Store in the purchasing department for almost thirty years. When LaVerdiere’s was bought out by Rite Aid in the nineties, she retired. Upon retirement, she and Harold amazed everyone by how much mileage they put on their cars then. Much of it was at least several trips a week to Yarmouth to be involved in her grandchildren’s lives and activities.

Shirley is survived by two children, Mark (Martha) of Yarmouth, and Jayne of Winslow; four grandchildren, Nate (Jessica) of Burke, Va., Amos (Corina) of Falmouth, Lucas (Melissa) of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Maggie Keeshan (Connor) of Old Greenwich, Conn.; and ten great-grandchildren.

In accordance with her wishes, there will be no funeral.

Please visit Shirley’s memorial page at https://dsfuneral.com/obituaries/shirley-dunlap-2024 where condolences, photos, and special memories may be shared.