Shirley L Atwood

Florence, MA - Shirley Louise (Burke) Atwood, 90, passed away peacefully at home with her children at her side on April 22, 2024. Shirley was a loving and dedicated wife, mother, daughter and artist; a self-taught student of Shakespeare, the French language, culture, politics, classical music and opera, and the natural world; a skilled seamstress, interior decorator, gardener and birder; and a consummate cook and baker, who brought beauty and refinement to every corner of her (and her family’s) life.
Shirley was born on September 10,1933 in Denver, Colorado, the daughter of Col. Carl V. and Virginia (Dailey) Burke. She grew up an only child in the depths of the Great Depression and the onset of WW II. Her childhood memories include living in a cabin in the mountains as her father led a Civilian Conservation Corp camp, and with her Swedish grandparents in Colorado Springs, where vegetables, milk, and eggs came from their backyard, and bread and beer were made at home. She never forgot hearing the radio announcement of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. At age 9, her life changed when her father, an Army officer, was sent to the Pacific theatre. She and her mother did not see him again for three years.
Post-war, Col. Burke continued his Army career, and while stationed at Fort Monroe, VA, Shirley started college at William and Mary in Williamsburg. She loved learning, especially history and philosophy. She set her studies aside, however, to marry Henry C. Atwood, Jr (Hank), a handsome Navy midshipman she met on a blind date while home from college. They married in Carlisle Barracks, PA on April 30, 1955. Shirley wholeheartedly dedicated herself to being a supportive Navy wife and, with the birth of their first child one year later, to being a mother. Another daughter and a son soon followed, and she skillfully managed her roles as mother of three children, as the wife of a Naval officer rising through the ranks, and as a homemaker whose household moved every two years, including tours of duty in Kodiak, AK and both coasts. When she could, Shirley made time for her artistic interests in painting and drawing, and read literature and non-fiction voraciously.
Following Hank’s retirement in Virginia Beach, they traveled the world for cultural exploration and birding expeditions, and sailed in the Chesapeake, the Caribbean and the Aegean. Shirley’s garden was her passion, her talent at flower arranging was sought by the Garden Club, and she was active in her church. She also taught herself calligraphy and with that skill produced a book of family recipes for her daughters.
In 2008 Shirley and Hank moved to Florence to be closer to their daughters and to Wellfleet, MA, where they enjoyed summers in the Atwood family homestead. She joined Edwards Church in Northampton. Though her later years brought the challenges of increasing memory loss, she continued to thrive at home and enjoy local excursions thanks to her daughters and a wonderful team of caregivers (Rose, Shelly, Bar, Sherri, Elaine and Charity), for which her family will be forever grateful. Hank predeceased her in 2023. Shirley will be greatly missed by her children Eric M. Atwood of Colorado, Cheri (Atwood) Butler of Northampton and Judith L. Atwood of New York. She also leaves behind four grandchildren: Jon Butler (wife Rachel) and Katie Butler, both of California; Alex Atwood (wife Megan) of California, and Jason Atwood of Colorado. Services for Shirley will be held at a later date. She will be interred in Wellfleet next to Hank.