Obituary of Shirley Mae Weil

Shirley Weil was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut in July of 1923 and was raised in Connecticut and New York in a full house with 5 beloved younger brothers -- Daniel Greenberg, Edwin Greenberg, Gerald Greenberg, Marshall Greenberg and Patrick OConnor. Growing up, Shirleys father, Samuel Greenberg, owned and operated a poultry farm and her mother, Paulene Chaiklin, was a homemaker. As a young woman, Shirley enjoyed painting and playing the piano, and helping to raise her younger brothers. In the early 1940s, Shirley moved to Detroit with her husband, Rolfe Weil, to raise two wonderful boys, Ron and Larry, in the Jewish suburbs of Detroit. In 1969, Shirley lost her son Larry in action in the Vietnam War, a sadness she carried with her for the rest of her life. Wherever she went in life, Shirley made close and lasting friends with her kindness, her sense of humour, her fierce loyalty, and an eagerness to talk about anything and everything, including family, art, politics and current events. Her years in Detroit included curating and selling art, teaching piano, socializing and entertaining, travelling internationally, and hosting her grandchildren. She was an incredibly doting grandmother and loved showing them Detroit and visiting them in California. Shirley was known for her impeccable fashion sense and her eye for a deal. She looked fabulous from head to toe wherever she went, often rocking a stylish and monochrome outfit accented with her famous clip-on earrings. After her husbands death, Shirley moved to Walnut Creek, California to be closer to Ron and his family. She enjoyed her time in California enormously, including adventuring around the Bay Area with many friends, attending ballet, opera and other artistic performances, hosting her local granddaughter for sleepovers, and tending to her cacti. She was preceded in death by her husband, Rolfe, her sons Larry and Ron, and her daughter-in-law, Leah Statman. She leaves behind her loving grandchildren Arlo Weil (Sarah Weil), Sasha Statman-Weil, Kate Statman-Weil (P. Mark Anderson) and Zoe Statman-Weil, her niece Melody Pehote, her brothers Jerry and Marshall, her daughter-in-law Nancy Jones, and her five great-grandchildren: Kyla, Aryn, Akaylee, Danielle, and Ricardo. She will be missed.