Shirley (Levstow) Becker: 3/29/1909-2/27/2000

Shirley's parents were from Russia; she was born in Brooklyn. She had a brother and 2 sisters: Harry, Pauline and Gertrude. She had 2 children, Ellen and Jerome. Jerome died in a commercial plane crash in 1972.

Shirley and her husband Mo, moved to Chapel Hill in 1974 to be closer to her daughter Ellen and son-in-law Phil

Shirley was the proto-typical Jewish mother of her generationÑan excellent home-maker, caring for the children, and volunteering outside the home. While neither she nor Mo was particularly involved in Jewish religious activities when in Brooklyn, she was an active Hadassah member and made daughter Ellen a life member. Joining Beth El after moving here, they not only shared the celebrations of many family events, but also were a visible presence in many other happy occasions in the Jewish and broader community.

A charming and warm woman, Shirley did have a streak of vanity involving secrecy about her actual age. She never thought of herself as old and seemed to entertain the thought that she could live forever. It wasnÕt until they had moved to North Carolina that Ellen learned the year that Shirley was born, a few years earlier than what Ellen had been led to believe.

While the couple did not "live forever", they did have a full post-retirement life in their adopted North Carolina community and had many friends here who mourned their passing.