Shirley Ann Mulloy, 86, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland passed away on Friday March 26, 2021 in Leonardtown, Maryland from complications following a surgery compounded by many years of battling dementia. She was born October 09, 1934 in Washington, DC. She was preceded in death by her mother Hazel Eunice Gaylor, her father William Eugene Mulloy Sr., her siblings Nancy Lee (Mulloy) Borland and William Eugene Mulloy Jr.
She is survived by her two daughters Nancy Lynn (White) Szewczyk (Jay) of Great Mills, MD, and Sharon Leigh (White) Hancock (Dale) of Dunkirk, MD, her three grand-daughters Jamie Leigh Szewczyk (Jame girl) of Hurricane, WV, Alexandra Lynn Szewczyk (Allie) of Baltimore, MD, and Christina Marie Szewczyk (Tina baby) of Great Mills, MD, several nieces, nephews, and great nieces and nephews. She is also survived by her half-brother James (Tony) P. Hutchison Jr. of Leonardtown, MD.
She graduated from Anacostia High School in 1953 and later settled on Brown Station Road in Upper Marlboro, Maryland in 1960 where she raised her two daughters born in 1961 and 1966 keeping them involved in many activities such as majorettes, dance, piano, horseback riding, and 4-H. She lived there until 2017 when she moved to Leonardtown, Maryland to be closer to family.
After graduation she took a job as a legal secretary for the United States Tax Court Division of the Department of Justice. During her tenure with the Tax Division of the Department of Justice she received numerous awards to include two Meritorious Awards, and an Outstanding Secretary of the Tax Division in 1981 for the superior performance of her duties. Her tenure with the Department of Justice was composed of two parts as she briefly chose to remain at home with her children when her second daughter was born spending some of this time volunteering for her church. Once both girls were attending school, she worked as a Special Education Aide for grades K-12. After her youngest daughter completed elementary school, she returned to federal service until she retired from the United States Tax Court Department of Justice with 32 years of service on October 3, 1992. She thoroughly enjoyed her time with the Department of Justice and made many lifelong friends over the years.
Upon retirement from federal service, she attended Washington Bible College and graduated with an Adult Education Program certificate in 1997, while simultaneously working at a child day care facility. The last job she held before fully retiring was with Pat’s Hallmark in Bowie, Maryland. She very much enjoyed working at Hallmark and became an avid beanie baby and Hallmark Christmas ornament collector. Family and friends always knew they could count on a Hallmark gift from her for all of life’s special occasions.
She loved to be outside with nature and spent much of her time doing her ‘yard work’ in the sun, and keeping the birds fed. She loved to watch football while drinking a cold beer and was an avid Baltimore Ravens fan. She loved her doll collection and shared that love with her granddaughters. She had an exceptionally great love for all animals. Her favorite wild animal being the elephant and she supported wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. She cared for many dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, gerbils, turtles, and fish over the years. She also cared for the many feral cats that would take up residence under her shed. The last animal she cared for was her beloved cat Baby. Baby kept her company, provided love, happiness, and security in the last years of her life while she lived with knowing she was losing her memories to dementia. She loved her friends and still maintained relationships with some that went as far back as high school. More than anything else in her life, she loved her family. Despite the dementia, she remembered and asked about each family member or friend by name, recognized their voice on the phone, or their face; whether in a picture that was sent in a Christmas card or when they came to visit her. Her love for the people in her life never allowed for her debilitating disease to take her memory of them away from her – she refused to lose that battle.
A graveside committal service will be held on Thursday April 01, 2021 at 11:00 at National Memorial Park, 7482 Lee Hwy., Falls Church, VA 22042.
Contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association at www.alz.org or 225 N. Michigan Ave., Fl. 17, Chicago, IL 60601, or the St. Mary’s Animal Welfare League (SMAWL) at www.smawl.org or P.O. Box 1232, Leonardtown, MD 20650.
Condolences may be made to the family at www.mgfh.com Arrangements provided by the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home, P.A. & Crematory Leonardtown, MD.
