Condolences
Shirley Isobel Derbyshire (nee Agar)
Shirley was born in the village of Nashville on the family farm on August 19, 1929. She grew up in the country but disliked farming. Ironically, she fell in love with and married Robert M. Derbyshire who only wanted to farm!
After Mom and Dad married, had 2 daughter’s and tried their hand at the hard life of farming they moved in to Toronto. Shirley was not one to sit idle. She attended a Business college and much before it was in vogue Shirley went to work outside the family home. She worked for North York Board of Education, transportation department, where she single handedly mapped out all the bus routes for the school buses. She then went on to work as a school secretary until she retired.
After she retired she researched both her own and her husband’s family trees. This was all done before computers. It took her seven years to search through municipal records, cemetery records and libraries to complete the direct lineage for both the Agar and Derbyshire families. She proved that Bob, her husband was a direct descendant of the United Empire Loyalists who were in Canada in 1783.
Shirley was 8th generation Canadian on her Mother’s side. The family came from Bern, Switzerland to the U.S.A. in 1739 and Canada in 1804. Her father’s family came from England and Scotland. They bought land in Toronto where the Black Creek Pioneer Village now stands.
Shirley was very proud of her family heritage and her book called “A Heritage of a Child”. At the age of 66 Shirley was widowed and at 68 she picked up her roots and moved to Calgary to be closer to her family. Considering the long heritage of the family in southern Ontario this was quite a feat!
Shirley was a gifted seamstress, excellent cook, avid reader, world traveler, and astute self-taught investor. Above all else, Shirley cherished her family who will miss her in many ways.
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