Visitors to the Mary Evans Picture Library offices in London over the years may well have met Shirley, a long-standing employee who also happened to be the sister-in-law of the picture library’s founders Mary and Hilary Evans.
The library have sent out this memory of Shirley:
After retiring from her career as a primary school teacher, Shirley worked at the library every day on a part-time basis, and was, without exception, a delightful colleague, offering to make cups of tea or tempting us with a biscuit, telling us all about the films and exhibitions she energetically went to see, and being the one person who always remembered to take the tea towels home to wash!
Although Shirley hadn’t worked at the library since 2020, we were thrilled that she visited us with her daughter Belinda a few weeks before Christmas, and we spent time reminiscing with the help of the albums Shirley, our unofficial photographer, had diligently put together over the years of staff and events at the library. A few days later we received a card with a charming thank you note, inscribed with Shirley’s unmistakable neat and bold teacher’s hand.
We were all greatly saddened to learn that Shirley passed away, peacefully, on 26th January, just a few days before her 91st birthday and wanted to use this space to remember a lady who really was one of the kindest and loveliest people you could ever meet.
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