Shirley J. Eagan, 87, passed away in the comfort of family at Woodridge Nursing Home in Berlin on Sunday morning, October 20, 2019. Born in Peoria, IL, on July 28, 1932, she was a daughter of the late Alvah and Evelyn Clarke Hill. Shirley was previously married to Marshall Eagan of Waterbury Center with whom she remained good friends.
Shirley grew up in Pass Christian, MS, where she graduated from high school and then went on to attend and graduate from Mercy Hospital School of Nursing in Vicksburg, MS. She also attended Bradley University and St. Louis University after moving to Peoria, IL. Shirley was on the faculty at Illinois Central College where she taught the operating room tech program affiliating her students to St. Francis, Methodist and Proctor Hospitals. She was a surgical RN, first at Methodist Hospital and then later at St. Francis.
Shirley came to Vermont in 1973 and worked as a home health nurse for Waterbury Home Health (now CVHHH) for several years. She then worked as an emergency and endoscopy nurse at Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin, VT, retiring in 1992. Not one to be idle and seeing a definite need, she, along with her two daughters, founded the assisted living facility well known in the area as the Squier House on Union Street in Waterbury. Together they met the needs for many folks in the central Vermont area, including herself for several years, with compassion, skilled care and home-cooked meals for over 20 years. It should be noted that Shirley was blessed with excellent staff who remained close with her throughout the years.
Shirley was a member, past president and ardent supporter of the Waterbury Ambulance Service and was a parishioner of St. Andrew Catholic Church in Waterbury. She loved to play golf and was a member at Blush Hill Country Club for many years. She also enjoyed traveling in her free time.
Shirley is survived by her two daughters, Teresa Merrill and her husband Rick of Waterbury and Julie Morse and her husband Matt of Waterbury; four grandchildren, Mya Morse, Ian Morse, TJ Morse and Tanner Merrill; and five great-grandchildren, Madison Dunbar, Waylon Wheaton, Noah Lamson, Eli Morse and Asah Morse. Shirley was predeceased by two sisters, Beverlee Garlotte and Betty Hill.
The family extends their sincere appreciation to the staff at Woodridge Nursing Home for their support and wonderful care during Shirley’s residence there.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated from St. Andrew Catholic Church in Waterbury on November 25, 2019, at 11 a.m. with a reception to follow in the church parish hall. For those who wish, memorial gifts would be appreciated to the Waterbury Ambulance Service, P.O. Box 95, Waterbury Center, VT 05677 (www.waterburyambulance.org). Assisting the family is Perkins-Parker Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Waterbury. To send online condolences visit www.perkinsparker.com or the funeral home Facebook page.
