Obituary of Shirley Mary Steinman
Shirley Mary (Wright) Steinman
October 21, 1930 – June 16, 2019
Shirley Mary Wright was born October 21, 1930, in Ecorse, Michigan, to machinist John Wright and homemaker Edna (Paige) Wright, the third of four sisters: Beryl Clegg, Beverly Wright, and Barbara Ellison.
She lived on a family farm as a child and graduated from Flat Rock High School. She received and undergraduate degree from Eastern Michigan Normal College (Which became Eastern Michigan University), and began her teaching career in a multi-grade, one-room schoolhouse North of Monroe. She met George Albert Steinman, whom she married on May 22, 1954, and with whom she had five children.
Shirley then received a Masters of English Literature from Eastern Michigan and taught mostly first grade for the Jefferson School District, retiring in 1987. She loved teaching first graders to read.
An activist for most of her life, Shirley worked in the peace and anti-nuclear movement, attending numerous protests and rallies and being arrested (with other grannies) for handcuffing herself in her US Representative’s office when he refused to meet with her group. For some time, the Fermi Whistleblowers’ Hotline phone rang in her home.
A life-long writer, Shirley said she “Cannot not write,” and she published three books of poetry: “Only Paper, Merely Words” (2002), “Afterward, Now, and Before” (2007), and “All Loves Live On” (2009), available from the Book Nook in Monroe.
Shirley was an avid photographer and was active in the Monroe Camera Club for many years, where she won many awards for her photography.
Shirley Mary Steinman, 88, of Monroe passed away Sunday, June 16, 2019 at Alice Lorraine Care Center, where she had resided for 18 months. She previously made her home at three different Vivian Road addresses over the course of 60 years. Shirley’s passing was preceded by her parents and sisters. She is survived by her husband, George Albert Steinman of Monroe, five children: son Jan Wright (Cleome) of Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada, daughter Lauda Marie Sisung (Geoff) of Monroe, son Kurt Josef (Jenise) of Monroe, son Karl George (Marilyn) of Monroe, and daughter Gretchen Contreras (Alex) of Ypsilanti, 20 grandchildren and step-grandchildren, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
Shirley has chosen to give the gift of knowledge through the anatomical donation of her earthly remains to the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Friends may gather at 1:00pm on Sunday, June 23, 2019 for a memorial luncheon at Merkle Funeral Service, North Monroe; 2442 North Monroe Street (734) 384-5185. A time of remembrance will follow at 2:00pm with David R. Lyke officiating.
In Lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to Habitat for Humanity of Monroe or The Monroe County Humane Society.