David Hendricks
Remembering Aunt Shirley is to remember the good times. The Wilson's lived on the other side of an empty field, only a few hundred yards from our house on Hunt Road. Her baking skills were well known to us kids, as the fragrance of cookies and cake always seemed to linger in the warm, still summer air outside the house.
Us kids, her nieces, nephews, her sons and daughters created a well worn path past a lonely apple tree, and across that dusty, empty field that lay between our homes. I recall that we were always welcome there.
I know that Uncle Herb, a hard working truck driver, boat builder, home handyman, and later, owner of Bennet's Corners Shell, had a remarkable appetite for sweets, so it turns out that Uncle Herb and Aunt Shirley were certainly the perfect pair. Also remembered fondly are camping trips to Berlin Reservoir, as well as the fun times when they took us out for our first rides in their boat. Aunt Shirley always made a great picnic for us to enjoy. She was a kind and gentle soul who could be firm with us when we pushed the acceptable boundaries.
I guess all that I can say regretfully is that time, distance, and it seems life itself can sometimes carry us far away from those who were so precious to us early in life. Still, I have, and will always carry in my heart the memory of my Aunt, as well as the memories of the way we all were so many years ago.
My most sincere sympathy to the family, and to all who knew and loved her.
God Bless and keep you Aunt Shirley.
David Hendricks
