Shirley Dill

Shirley Delia (Herbert) Dill
1920 - 2017
AUGUSTA - Shirley Dill passed quietly on clear, bright spring morning with the sun shining through her window. Born Oct. 1, 1920, in Bath, Shirley was an only child and became a child of divorce by age two - long before either circumstance was common. She was raised primarily by her paternal aunts, Elizabeth (Herbert) Caswell, and Ann (Herbert) Winslow in the seaside hamlet of Bristol near Pemaquid Point. Thus began her lifelong love affair with the coast of Maine.
Shirley was one of 19 students to graduate Bristol High School in 1938. By the early 1940s she moved to Auburn where she resided at the YWCA and worked at a local factory as part of the war effort. She always considered this time of her life as her heyday. Shortly after World War II, she found herself a Navy sailor to marry, Carroll E. Dill of Gardiner. The couple soon moved to Randolph where they built a home and together raised two children, annual vegetable gardens, fruit and nut trees, rhubarb, and flowers.
Well into adulthood, Shirley began a career as a Certified Nursing Assistant working first at what became known as the Augusta Mental Health Institute. Later, she continued her work for Tikey Malloy's home healthcare agency in Hallowell before retiring in the 1980s.
Shirley was bawdy, brash, and bold with a wicked sense of humor and a salty vocabulary that could make the most sea-hardened sailor blush. In the end, it was humor that was her saving grace and that sense of humor was with her 'til the last. True to her deep Maine roots, Shirley was stubborn and independent. In many ways, she was born before her time.
A lifelong baseball fan, Shirley would "root root root" for the Red Sox every season and unlike so many who were born in 1920, she lived long enough to see her team win the World Series - twice - something they hadn't done since two years prior to her birth. She honeymooned in Boston where she and her husband attended a Boston Braves game, and she fondly told of the day that Babe Ruth visited her elementary school class.
Shirley enjoyed the company of many beloved pets over her lifetime and found a solace in animals that too often eluded her in human relationships. Among her favorite things were trips to the coast for a lobster dinner, walks with her dogs through the expansive woods that were her backyard, a good dish of ice cream on a warm day, and a roaring fire on a cool one. She'd feed anything with feathers even if she had to scoot across her snow covered yard on a square of linoleum to reach the turkeys in the winter months. And she got a special thrill from lottery tickets which she'd scratch with great anticipation devilishly whispering "seven come eleven….baby needs new shoes!"
While housekeeping was not her superpower, in her kitchen Shirley made a mean whoopie pie, a respectable shrimp chowder, and a hell of a mess.
Shirley's better angels didn't always win in a life that was burdened by a sense of abandonment from the start, but as she ventured down the long road of dementia, she was released from many of the struggles that plagued her for most of her lifetime.
Her final years were spent at Glenridge Living Community in Augusta where she felt a belonging that had escaped her for most of her preceding 90 years. The communal living environment at Glenridge was much like her stay at the YWCA during her early twenties and she was surrounded by a caring staff who, like she had, spent their career of caring for others who were unable to care for themselves. While she enjoyed a special kinship with the entire staff at Glenridge, she and her personal care assistant Amy, a CNA, were truly kindred spirits. A philosophy of elder care is to meet the person where they're at. Amy met Shirley at who she was - a gift that enriched her final years immensely.
Shirley would often jokingly say, "If I'd've known what old age was like, I'd've never signed up." She was old for longer than most. While it's often said that it takes a village to raise a child, Shirley was fortunate to have a village to help her age. The professionals Glenridge Living Community are to be commended for the compassion they bring to their work and for the dignity they provide to their residents. Shirley experienced similar care while residing at Woodlands Senior Living in Hallowell where she lived for nearly ten years prior to transitioning to Glenridge, and she enjoyed decades of devoted care from her personal physician at Gardiner Family Practice - John Van Summern, MD - who she lovingly referred to as "Dr. John." During her last years at home, Shirley was blessed to have the support of Meals on Wheels, the companionship of longtime friend, Elizabeth Tobey, and delivery service of her friendly local grocer, Jack Goggin, of Randolph's Goggin's IGA, whose family she traded with for years. Jack would often deliver Shirley's order to her home where he'd enjoy a cold Coca-Cola and sit a spell. These kindnesses meant the world to her.
Shirley was predeceased by her father Julius Edgar Herbert and stepmother Blanche (Huntley) Herbert, her mother Maud (Hunt) Weaver; husband of 51 years Carrol Edwin Dill; and beloved daughter Bonnie (Dill) Van Den Bossche. She is survived by a small handful of family members.
A private burial will be held at the Maine Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Augusta on Thursday, July 20, at 10:00 a.m. followed by a celebration of Shirley's life at Glenridge Living Community at 2:30 - 4:30 p.m. that same day.

In lieu of flowers, take some time to visit with the older folks in your life, adopt a pet from your local
shelter, volunteer at an assisted living or long term care facility,
treat yourself to a dish of ice cream after a day at the shore, or take a chance on that lottery ticket. After all, you can't win if you don't play