It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Shirley Louise Munson our beloved mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and sister. Throughout her long life she embodied the Golden Rule and touched many with her empathy, love, and faith. She was a person of understated strength who remained calm in the eye-of-the-storm and was the center of gravity for a large, extended family. Shirley was born in 1931 in Detroit, Michigan the first child of James and Mildred Flack. But most of her early life was spent in New York City and its boroughs where she graduated from Andrew Jackson High School, St. Albans in 1949 and subsequently attended Hunter College. Young Shirley was a gifted sketch artist and illustrator but chose to set aside that pursuit in favor of raising a family. It was in high school that mutual friends introduced Shirley to her future husband Robert R. Munson, the son of George and Wilhelmina Munson of Jamaica Long Island. The couple were married in 1951 and temporarily settled in Alabama where Robert was an Army Private stationed at Camp Rucker. There the couple would celebrate the birth of their first son, Robert (Bobby). The young family soon resettled into a home that Robert built in Massapequa Long Island where they would celebrate the births of Gordon, Donald, and Timothy. In the early 60s the growing family followed other relatives to South Florida with a menagerie of horses and other animals in tow; including the infamous but beloved pony Rusty. Shirley and her family settled into a home site in what was at the time Fort Lauderdale but was later annexed by the growing town of Davie. There Robert built a larger home as the family expanded to six boys with the births of George and Luke. Shirley tolerated but never enjoyed the inevitable “Do you regret not having daughters?” Her motto was the Serenity Prayer; “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” There is no doubt that she turned to the Serenity Prayer often as she raised six rambunctious –sometimes death defying– sons through the highs and lows of life. She is also remembered as a generous and caring homemaker who opened hearth and home to many of her sons’ friends. In addition to raising her family and caring for others, Shirley was the bookkeeper and ran the office of the family business; Munson’s Floor Covering. Somehow she also managed to find time to express her artistic side through the decorative arts and sewing. Sewing was a passion and Shirley was a longtime member of a South Florida sewing guild. The clothing that she made for herself was greatly admired and many sought her assistance with their own projects. Her mother-in-law Wilhelmina so cherished one of Shirley’s outfits that she requested to be laid to rest in it. Shirley was also known to turn her skills to other purposes such as upholstery for Robert’s boats, quilts, and even saddle blankets. After a life that spanned nearly a century Shirley passed away surrounded by her family at her home nestled in the green pastures that she, Robert, and the family enjoyed over several decades. She went to God with the peace and serenity of knowing that her cherished family would endure. Shirley leaves behind her brother John, six sons, beloved daughters-in-law, ten grandchildren, and sixteen great grandchildren. Her funeral mass will be held at St. David’s Catholic Church in Davie at 10:30 AM, Friday October 25th. She will then be laid to rest with her husband Robert in South Florida National Cemetery, Lake Worth. In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to Cure SMA (curesma.org) to assist those impacted by spinal muscular atrophy, the condition that claimed Shirley’s infant granddaughter Caitlyn.