Shirley Ann Voellinger

October 7, 1934 - October 9, 2019

Shirley Voellinger, formerly of Pittsburgh PA, Maple Shade NJ, and Delray Beach FL, passed away in the early morning hours of October 9th at her assisted living residence in Boynton Beach, Florida after fighting an aggressive recurrence of multiple meningiomas, the cause of her blindness. No services are planned and interment will be private, where her ashes will be placed with her husband’s in the South Florida Veteran’s Cemetery in Lake Worth, FL. Donations may be made in her name to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Who was Shirley Voellinger? She was the wife of 62 years to the late Stephen A. Voellinger, a mother to five children, a grandmother to seven, a sister to one, and a friend to many. Books were her passion, and she continued to ‘read’ recorded books after she went blind six years ago, amassing a list of over 1400 books! Favorites topics included World War II history, Mount Everest, mysteries, true crime, and biographies. Travel was as important to mom as were her books. We used to call them her ‘wacky’ trips, but through Earthwatch, she worked with orangutans in Borneo and tracked black rhino in Africa. While a member of Astara, mom visited Easter Island, Machu Pichu, Europe, Egypt, and China. She and dad traveled to Mexico as their first trip in 1968, and subsequently enjoyed several trips to Europe, an extended visit to Australia and New Zealand (where they celebrated her birthday for a month!), visited many of the Caribbean Islands (owning a vacation home in St. Thomas for many years), toured Greece, and enjoyed trips throughout the U.S. including visits to the Grand Canyon, several of the National Parks, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Colorado. Mom loved telling a good joke and reveled in embellishing the punch line. She loved to sing and dance, and most of us know the one in which she excelled! Our family would like to thank the many friends who called, sent a note, stopped in to visit, or took her out for a meal or a drink at Two George’s and other local places. We cannot list everyone, but a special shout out to Mike Murtaugh, who visited her regularly, kept her laughing, bought her Mudslides, and cultivated her love of Toby Keith; to Kathy Zefran, who took her twice a week to the pool or fitness center until just a few months ago; and most especially, to Jean Sullivan, her ‘ole pal’ for over sixty years, with whom they shared a lifetime of Lincoln Avenue memories and Knights of Columbus functions, while aging with health and grace. We would also like to thank the awesome staff at Sonata Boynton Beach, Trustbridge Hospice, and especially Nadia and Mona for their diligent, loving comfort and care to mom during these last two weeks. She was in excellent hands, which brought us all comfort. Rest in peace, Mom. You will be missed.