BRUNSWICK – Shirley Jane Chace died on April 24, 2024, at her home in Brunswick. She was born in New York City on June 2, 1931, to Fred Shirley Chace and Mildred Matilda Ziegler Chace, who owned a small butcher and grocery shop in Tuckahoe, N.Y.

As a child, she swam in the Long Island Sound during her summers becoming a freestyle champion as a teen. She rode the train to Manhattan to see Broadway shows, instilling in her a lifelong love of the arts, and sat in the stands of the Polo Grounds with her father and brother Dean rooting for their beloved NY Giants.

When Shirley was a teenager, her father gave her a Welsh terrier named Penny, and so began her love of dogs. Throughout her life, she cared for Boots, Bo, Belle, Josie, Nut ‘N Honey, Suki, and lastly, Jack, who was by her side when she died. Shirley quipped that if you didn’t like her dog then she didn’t like you. Her children knew there was truth in that joke. Shirley also loved cats, and her 21-year-old tabby survives her.

Shirley graduated from Dickinson College with a B.A. in History in 1953. Like many women of her generation, she wanted to pursue athletic competition but there was only a men’s swimming team. With her characteristic boldness, she arranged to train with the men’s team and became notorious on campus for her aquatic skills.

After graduation, she passed up an opportunity to attend a graduate program in the arts. Instead, she went to work for Pennsylvania Bell as a Customer Service Representative. In 1956, shortly after her father died of cancer, Shirley returned to Tuckahoe, lived with her mother, and continued working as a Customer Service Representative at the Bell Telephone Company. She loved to tell stories of some of the celebrities she had to remind to pay their bills.

In 1959, the first of her three children was born, and shortly thereafter, Shirley moved to Waterville, Maine. The family eventually moved to New Windsor, Md. Shirley found great joy in cooking and preparing delicious family meals. Her specialties included homemade bread, doughnuts, peach ice cream, and spaghetti and meatballs. Holiday traditions were important to Shirley, and she loved to make Christmas cookies with her grandchildren.

When her youngest son began school, Shirley returned to the workforce. She attended Western Maryland College and received an M.A. in Education in 1971. She briefly taught social studies at Westminster Junior High School, but to help better support the family, returned to work at Bell’s Chesapeake and Potomac Branch where she proudly served as Union Steward for the Communication Workers of America. Shirley fought hard for her fellow workers and had no patience for people who crossed picket lines.

In 1984, Shirley moved to her beloved row house in Baltimore, where she tended to her backyard perennial garden. She walked her dogs on the Johns Hopkins University campus and immersed herself in Baltimore’s arts scene. She attended Orioles games at Memorial Stadium including the last game played there. When the Orioles moved to Camden Yards, she continued to attend games and enjoy Oriole Magic.

Throughout her life, Shirley remained devoted to community service. She founded the Carroll County chapter of the League of Women’s Voters and campaigned and protested for women’s rights. In Baltimore, she served as a volunteer at Cylburn Arboretum, Barclay Elementary school, and 32nd Street Farmers Market. She cared deeply about her local community, children, animals and was insatiably curious about the world. Shirley traveled extensively–she journeyed in Kenya, climbed Machu Picchu, took a train through the Copper Canyon, and swam off the coast of Mykonos.

Shirley moved to Brunswick in 2005 to be close to children and grandchildren. There, she hosted countless family dinners. She relished her nightly cocktail, and sipped her final Old Fashioned the night before she died. She loved her friends and neighbors, and they helped care for her like family through her final days.

She was predeceased by her parents and a brother, Dean Chace of Princeton, N.J. She is survived by her children, Timothy Phillips and his wife Nora Tracy Phillips of Wellesley, Mass., Pamela Phillips Torrey and her husband William A. Torrey III of Portland, Winthrop Phillips and his wife Elizabeth Orlic of Falmouth; and her grandchildren, Emily Torrey, Jonathan Phillips, Katherine Torrey, Susannah Phillips, and Selah Rose Orlic Phillips. She is also survived by her brother’s children Elizabeth, Kip, and Scott; her former in-laws Carol Shaffer and David and Ellie Phillips; niece and nephews Steve, Beth, Collin, Ben, and Andrew.

A celebration of her life will be held on Sunday, June 9, 2024, at the Torrey Barn, Cram Alumni House of Bowdoin College in Brunswick from 2 to 4 p.m.

Memories and condolences may be shared at http://www.brackettfh.com.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to:

Midcoast Humane

(midcoasthumane.org) or:

Cylburn Arboretum

(cylburn.org)



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