Shirley Walther Shore
Shirley Walther Shore, 87, of Philipsburg, PA, passed away May 10, 2019, at Mount Nittany Medical Center in State College, PA.
Born December 26, 1931, in Wheeling, West Virginia, she was the daughter of Elsie Cassanova Van Camp Walther and George David Walther II.
Shirley was a 1950 graduate of Ambridge High School in Pittsburgh, PA, and she graduated in 1957 from The California State Teacher’s College with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Secondary English and History Education with a minor in Theatre. During her college years she spent her summers performing at Summerstock Theatre at Indiana University of PA where she often borrowed props from Jimmy Stewart’s father’s hardware store.
Shirley began her teaching career at the newly opened Philipsburg-Osceola High School during the Fall of 1958 where she taught speech and speed reading and was the drama director. She took time off from teaching when she gave birth to her daughters Laura in 1963 and Lisa in 1966. She returned to teaching at the Philipsburg Junior High School in 1974 teaching 7th grade English and later 9th grade English and Theatre. It was during those Junior High years that her famous grammar songs emerged. Many of her former students can still sing “Adverb Rock” to “Proud Mary” or the “The Infinitive Starts with To” to “Another One Bites the Dust” as they fondly remember slamming the desks with their books to the three beats before each chorus. She also wrote a weekly column for the CDT called “Our Side of the Mountain.” She spent her remaining years teaching Senior English with her beloved Shakespeare and “Brit Lit.”
She retired in 1999 and spent most of her time researching her ancestry, delving into genealogy, traveling to Disney World, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and later to Greece, Egypt, Turkey, and Israel. Shirley also loved helping her daughter Lisa direct the PO Drama shows and even directed Murder Mystery shows for the club 3 summers as fundraisers. Shirley also loved helping raise her beloved granddaughters Sarah and Hannah and truly enjoyed attending dance recitals, plays, band and chorus concerts, and graduations. She never missed any of her granddaughters’ activities. Shirley was an active member of the Moshannon Chapter Daughter of the American Revolution, The Daughters of the American Colonies, and the Colonial Dames.
On June 1, 1957, she married Curtis H. Shore who passed on September 26, 1992. In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her parents, her brother George David Walther III, and, most recently in February, her dear daughter Laura. She is survived by her brothers Philip Megahan Walther and John James Walther; her daughter Lisa Shore Chorle and her husband Walter Chorle; her sweet granddaughters Sarah Anne Chorle whom she loved “more than air” and Hannah Grace Chorle whom she loved “A Bushel and A Peck”; her son-in-law Clifford Eliot Mack and several nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews.
Shirley’s creative teaching methods and her supportive and kind spirit will live on for generations in Philipsburg. Her perseverance and strength were inspirational to her family and all who knew her.
Shirley’s viewing will be held at Beezer Heath Funeral Home on Spruce Street in Philipsburg Friday, May 17, from 2-4pm and 6-8pm. There will be visitation at the First Presbyterian Church in Philipsburg Saturday, May 18, starting at 10am until her Funeral Service at 11am.
Due to family allergies to flowers, Memorial Contributions can be made to:
Philipsburg-Osceola High School Drama Club
502 Philips Street
Philipsburg, PA 16866
.
