Shirley R. White

Shirley R. White, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and eternally cheerful spirit, passed away on October 26, 2020 in Peterborough, after a mercifully brief bout with pancreatic cancer. She was 89 years young.

The daughter of Henry C. and Edith W. (Sayre) Herbert, Shirley and her brothers, James and Harold, lived in Bloomfield, NJ. After graduating from Fairleigh Dickinson University, she worked at Tung Sol and Celanese Corporations.

She met her husband, Richard S. "Dick" White, on a blind date. They married in 1954, bought a modest home in Bloomfield, and raised two children, Linda Griffith, now of Swanzey, NH, and Ken, of Richmond, CA.

A devout member of Watchung Presbyterian Church, Shirley served in multiple capacities, including her beloved bell choir. She was a tireless Girl Scout and Cub Scout leader. Shirley enjoyed vacationing on Lake Winnipesaukee, gardening, and sewing.

Shirley and Dick square danced in all 50 states, performed in the nationally televised 1986 Liberty Weekend, headed the Northern New Jersey Square Dance Association, attended 22 National Conventions, received the 2013 Yankee Clipper award, and helped organize the 2015 National Square Dance Convention.

In 1994, they "retired" to Jaffrey, to be closer to their granddaughter, Meghan (Griffith) Ferrari, now of Canton, NC. Membership in Union Congregational Church of Peterborough inevitably included more leadership roles. The pair moved to RiverMead in Peterborough in 2013, where they made many friends.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests charitable donations, and is exploring ways of honoring her memory in non-Covid times.