Please pardon this departure from the general approach of the site. As some may know, Gardner Goldsmith's mother, Shirley, passed away on Sunday. He has informed people that news would be announced about the services in her honor. She certainly deserved to be honored; she was a remarkable and outstanding woman of great insight, energy and integrity. For over a year, she battled a strange rheumatological syndrome that never relented, and she took it on with great strength and intensity, pushing herself beyond what many had initially thought were her capabilities.

The following is the official obituary, published today. Gard and his family send their thanks to everyone, from close friends, to associates, who has contacted them with good wishes. Your words mean a great deal.

Here is the obituary, a taste of the many facets of Mrs. Shirley P. Goldsmith:

Shirley P. Goldsmith

November 3, 1923 – November 9, 2008

Long-time Amherst resident, Shirley Peregrine (White) Goldsmith, died at the age of 85 on Sunday, November 9, 2008 at the Elliot Hospital in Manchester, NH. Shirley was born in Brockton, MA, November 3, 1923 to Dewey T. and Anna J. (Carroll) White, the first of their three children.

Mrs. Goldsmith moved many times as a youth, living in cities such as Binghamton, NY, Kirkwood, MO, and Hollis, NY.

While attending Andrew Jackson High School in Hollis, NY, Mrs. Goldsmith was recruited by Harry Conover of the Harry Conover Modeling Agency to join its ranks as a model, though she and her parents chose not to sign her with the agency. Instead, Mrs. Goldsmith graduated from Andrew Jackson High School in 1941, with honors from the Board of Regents of the State of New York. After graduation, Mrs. Goldsmith worked at Sperry Gyroscope, calibrating gyroscopes used in planes flown during WWII.

Mrs. Goldsmith married her first husband, artist and comedian Jack Marcley, in 1944 and lived in New York City. While living in New York, she worked on air on one of the early live television variety shows, “Stop the Music”. After several years in NY, she moved to Swampscott, MA and worked for Eastern Airlines, fondly recalling the work and business acumen of one of its founders and WWI flying ace, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker.

During the 1950’s, Mrs. Goldsmith began a new job at CBS-Hytron in Danvers, MA, along the newly completed Route 128. It was at CBS that Mrs. Goldsmith met her second husband, Paul H. Goldsmith, an executive in high-tech industry and retired Lt. Commander in the US Navy. They married in 1959 and resided in Topsfield, MA, living there for several years before moving to Westport, CT. The family moved to Amherst in 1969. While in Amherst, Mrs. Goldsmith was kept busy by her growing family, guiding them through school with humor, intelligence and grace. In her later years, Mrs. Goldsmith remained active in the community. She was especially proud of the work she and many others accomplished in bringing about the passage of a law known as “Senate Bill 2”, which gave residents in signatory NH communities the power to vote by ballot on local budget decisions, and, in its original form, required a 2/3 majority of votes for passage of spending items. The legislature of NH later changed the parameters ex-post-facto, to a 3/5 majority, much to their chagrin. However, her tireless and selfless work overcoming powerful political opposition to stop SB2 gave her great satisfaction and provided her with new friends she treasured. She was equally as proud of her “Tuesday Troop”, a Bible study group established in the home of Mrs. Beverly Gerstenberger of Amherst. From a group of three, the Tuesday Troop grew steadily over the years, provided funds to many authentic charitable causes, and proved to be the foundation for the development of many friendships that Mrs. Goldsmith held dear.

Mrs. Goldsmith was an accomplished pianist, singer, saxophone player, dancer, and loved to ride horses. She enchanted her children with her storytelling, incorporating them into the stories and entertaining them with her talents in mimicking accents from many countries. She taught several of her children to read and do arithmetic, providing them with strong educational foundations, and she observed politics with the keen eye of a skeptic, staying up to date even in her final days.

Mrs. Goldsmith is survived by her brother, Dewey T. White and his wife, Rosemary, of Acton, MA; her sister, Dewanne Bucceroni of Hatfield, PA; her four children, Valerie J. Marcley of Rockport, MA, Peter D. Goldsmith and his wife, Marla, of Mason, NH, Carroll-Ann W. Goldsmith of Amherst, and P. Gardner Goldsmith of Amherst. She is also survived by three grandchildren, Margo L. Killoran, of Hamilton, MA, Kord D. Stanley of Brooklyn, NY, and Brianna P. Smith of Amherst, five great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.

Mrs. Goldsmith was a wonderful mother, a lovely woman, and a strong individual to the end. As her late husband, Paul, inscribed on her wedding band, she was a “stout fellow” who will be sorely missed.

Funeral arrangements by Smith and Heald of Milford, NH: http://www.smith-heald.com/. Calling hours will run Thursday, from 4:30 to 7pm, with a memorial service running from 7 pm to close to 8.