LAW — Shirley Thompson Law, of Ingersoll, passed away peacefully at Alexandra Hospital on September 20, 2018, in her 96th year. Born in the family home on Canterbury Street in Ingersoll on May 20, 1923, Shirley was the daughter of Leo Law and Mina Thompson Law. Tragedy visited her at a young age when her mother died suddenly in 1933 after a brief illness. It was a loss that affected Shirley throughout her life. She found comfort as a child, though, from her love of books and the companionship of her younger brother Allan. Raised during the era of the Great Depression, Shirley attended Victory Memorial School and Ingersoll Collegiate Institute. She then studied English and French at the University of Western Ontario. A gifted student, Shirley was awarded the Gold Medal for highest standing in her program upon graduation from the university in 1945. After completing teacher training at the Ontario College of Education in Toronto the following year, she briefly taught high school French in Huron County before returning home to Ingersoll. Shortly afterwards, her father retired from his pharmacy business, and he and Shirley and Allan moved to a farm just south of Foldens. It was a place where Shirley enjoyed many happy years with the people she loved most. After their father died in 1970, Shirley and Allan continued farming until the early 1980s when Allan married and the farm was sold. Shirley then moved back into Ingersoll, where for almost 30 years her friendly smile could be seen at the Earl Street apartment building. Her home for the final years of life was Secord Trails Care Community in Ingersoll. Shirley had many interests, chief among them being her passion for reading. She was a member of the Ingersoll Book Club for over 60 years and the last surviving attendee of the club’s inaugural year of meetings in 1944. She was also a dedicated member of the West Oxford Women’s Institute for more than a half-century, a supporter of St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church in Ingersoll, and a charter member of the Ingersoll and District Historical Society. Some of Shirley’s other activities included researching her genealogical tree and following the Montreal Canadiens, along with other sports, especially golf, on TV. But most of all she enjoyed the company and conversation of friends and family. Among her special friends through the years were Mary Paddon of St. Thomas and Winifred Robinson of Kincardine, two former UWO roommates with whom Shirley maintained a decades-long correspondence; Helen Morris, who was her best chum from Ingersoll; Brenda Neeb of Stratford; and, of course, her brother Allan, who predeceased Shirley in 1989 and whose presence she missed dearly. Shirley is survived by her cousins Barbara Glover of Banner and John Thompson of Ingersoll, as well as by her sister-in-law Reta Parker (formerly Law). She is also remembered fondly by Neil Morris and his sister Deb. Those who were close to Shirley wish to extend their thanks to the staff at Secord Trails for making Shirley’s stay there a comfortable one the past 8 years. We are also grateful for the caring assistance of Dr. Marc Pariser, as well as the thoughtful service of the Ingersoll Public Library’s book-delivery program, not only for regularly supplying reading material to Shirley, but also for the many times its volunteers sat and visited with her. A very special thank-you goes out to Beverley and Kirk Robb of Ingersoll for the extraordinary help, kindness and friendship that they provided to Shirley over the last decade. Shirley was a proud alum of UWO. To the end of her life, her Gold Medal from the university remained perhaps her most cherished personal possession. It will be buried with her and go with her into eternity.