Shirley Connor

Shirley Mayberry Connor died on July 31, 2024. She was born at home in Windham in August of 1936, the third child of Marion Shaw and Leroy Mayberry, and lived along River Road her whole childhood. Her brothers, Paul and Arnold, were fifteen and thirteen years older than she was, and she remembered fondly them taking her to swim in the river at Gambo Falls. She recalled hunting for lost calves with her father and collecting eggs with her mother. She attended Windham schools and earned degrees at Westbrook Junior College and St. Joseph's College. She completed a Middlebury Language School Immersion Program in French and earned her teaching certification at the University of Southern Maine. She taught French at Lincoln Junior High School in Portland in the 1960s. It was here she met her husband, Thomas J. Connor, Sr. They were married in 1965 and built a home in Gorham where they welcomed two daughters, Erin and Tara. They spent time every summer on Watchic Lake in Standish, a tradition Shirley continued for forty years until her health prevented her. Shirley and her husband, Tom, were founding members of St. Ann's Episcopal Church in Windham, Maine. She filled many roles as a parishioner. She was a reader, greeter, and altar guild member. She served as junior and senior warden, chalice bearer, and sang in the choir. She was St. Ann's coordinator for the St. Elizabeth's Essentials Pantry at St. Luke's Cathedral, Portland, a project she championed passionately for many years. Shirley taught English at Gorham High School for more than twenty years. She was a fine teacher and took a personal interest in her students. Patient and unflappable in the classroom, she had a dry wit that escaped some, but delighted many. After retiring from teaching, Shirley worked at Creative Work Systems as a job coach for adults with disabilities, and volunteered as a tutor for adult English language learners for both Portland and Gorham Adult Ed. She made many friends in both settings. After her husband Tom's death, Roy Carlyle Lewis became Shirley's longtime companion. They made several trips to the West to visit family and spent a week in Southwest Harbor each fall. She was his steadfast support as he struggled with Alzheimer's Disease. Shirley loved the music of Johnny Cash and Schooner Fare. She loved playing cribbage with her friend Sandy, swimming in the lake, watercolor classes with Gorham Adult Ed, and reading mystery novels. She loved her many pets over the years, and her home on Libby Avenue in Gorham. She is predeceased by her parents; her brothers, Paul and Arnold Mayberry; her husband, Tom; her companion, R. Carlyle Lewis; and her stepson Timothy Connor. She will be missed by her daughter, Erin Connor and her partner, Angie Taylor; her daughter, Tara Connor and her husband Rich McCoy; her grandchildren, Liam and Declan Connor-Schaefer, and Rowan and Amelia Connor-McCoy; stepson, Thomas Connor, Jr.; stepdaughter, Carol Connor; stepdaughter-in-law, Marilyn Connor; her sister-in-law, Mary Mayberry of Moab, Utah, and their families. The family is grateful to the loving staff at Avita of Wells and would like to thank the staff at Beacon Hospice for their gentle care, advocacy, and support. A memorial service will be held at St. Ann’s Episcopal Church on Windham Center Road in Windham on Saturday, August 24, at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to St. Elizabeth's Essentials Pantry (https://stelizabethsmaine.org/ , St. Elizabeth's Jubilee Center, P.O. Box 4036, Portland, ME 04101). To express condolences or to participate in Shirley’s online tribute, please visit http://www.DolbyBlaisSegee.com.

Shirley Connor

August 22, 1936 - July 31, 2024

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