In 2007, Shirley was successfully treated for stomach cancer. In 2018, she was diagnosed with lung cancer and has spent some months off the island receiving treatment. Now the only thing standing in the way of her coming home is the need for an oxygen machine.
Shirley's friends Valerie Willis and Elaine Spencer teamed up with her sister, Sharon Schoelkopf, to organize a fundraiser for Shirley's oxygen machine.
Local artists and business owners have donated items (artwork! gift baskets!), including many gift certificates (fishing trips, vacation stays, boat tours!), for the silent and live auction. The event will be held on the lawn at Books to Be Red from 2–6pm on Sunday, July 15th. Come on out to see all the great stuff and bid on a few goodies! (Please bring cash or checks; they can't take credit cards.)
If you've never met Shirley, you have missed out on a treat. She's one of the most quotable people on Ocracoke (and that's saying a lot!). We all have our favorite Shirley quotes. My husband, Rob Temple, used to mention her during his "dingbatter" stories in the Ocrafolk Opry.
As he would tell it: One day a harried-looking woman ran up to Shirley outside her kayak-rental shop (now the Slushie Stand), and said, "I'm passing through and I'm only going to be on Ocracoke for three hours and I want to see the island. What's the one thing I absolutely should not miss?"
And Shirley, without missing a beat, replied, "The ferry."
My favorite Shirley quote was when a bunch of the playground moms were standing around outside the school waiting for our kids to be released for the day and grumbling about homework and kids as moms do. Someone asked Shirley, who was then being treated for stomach cancer, how she was. She said, "Let me tell you something. Compared to 4th grade homework, chemo is a walk in the park!"
Let's help get her home to the island!
Check out a small selection of the auction items below!