Aunt Shirley

For those of you who live in Maryland, I’m sure you heard in the news last week about the women who was shot and killed in her own front yard, and all she was doing was taking out the trash. Well, that woman was Babe’s great Aunt Shirley.

The street she lived on is owned by his Uncle. Let me rephrase that – all the houses on that street are owned by Babe’s Uncle. He rents them out to family, so everyone on that street knew Shirley personally. When Babe and I were first married, and Buddy was born, we lived on that exact street…about 4 houses away from Shirley.

When Babe first called to tell me about his Aunt’s death, I was shocked for a good 2-3 days. Infact, I’m still shocked. Of course, all the what if’s went through my head. It’s scary to think about the “what ifs” of if we still lived there today. Would one of us been the one shot? What if it was Buddy? Shirley had her husband, daughter and 3 grandkids living with her…what if it was one of her grandkids that were shot? There are so many what if’s that went through my head, but the fact of the matter was it was Shirley that was shot. And there was no taking that back.

Shirley was a woman I was very proud to know. Before Babe & I started dating I knew of her. Her and her husband, Tex, owned Little Texas. I used to go there every week back in high school. I didn’t really talk with them then, but definitely recognized them when I met them through Babe. Once we all figured out we recognized each other through Little Texas, we hit it off great! When we lived on the same street as them, Shirley was over at least every other day to check on us. She made sure we were okay, that we had everything we needed, and just to give us some company. She was always so pleasant! The night we had to call 911 b/c Buddy stopped breathing- as soon as the ambulance pulled onto our street, she was in our house not 5 seconds later seeing if there was anything she could do to help. As long as I knew her, which wasn’t long, she was always like that.

And now she’s gone. Her viewing and funeral were both this past Saturday. There were so many people that attended both. It was certainly standing room only. It’s so nice to see that one person can touch so many people’s heart; yet sad at the same time. She was obviously very loved by many, including myself. There was no doubt about that. At one point during the viewing, the pastor quieted everyone to let us know that the Raven’s had won – haha – Shirley wouldn’t have had it any other way. Go Ravens!

During her funeral, the pastor brought up how short life is, and that we shouldn’t let quarrels between people continue. He said if we were fighting with anyone, to call them that night and settle it. And he’s so right. I know 2009 started 2 weeks ago, and although I wasn’t going to have a resolution this year, I’ve changed my mind. I’m going to make sure a day doesn’t go by without telling those I love how much they mean to me. You really never know when your time is up. Shirley was simply taking out the trash. How many times have you, or a loved one, taken out the trash and expected to “be right back”? At least once a week I’m sure. It’s something we all do.

They are still searching for the guy that shot her. She got caught in the middle of a drug deal gone bad…the guy intended to be shot was missed and Shirley was shot instead. It’s such ashame. Shirley will be missed by many, and forever be in the hearts of those who knew and loved her.

Here is an article that was written last week about the tragedy:

Shots that killed Middle River woman may have targeted someone elseBaltimore County police were searching for two men and a woman today after a woman was fatally shot last night outside her home in the Hawthorne section of Middle River.The woman was identified by police today as Shirley Elizabeth Worcester, 58. Police said in a news release that she was outside her house talking to family members when she was shot and that the shots may have been aimed at someone else.Shortly before 8:30 p.m., police at the Essex Precinct responded to a report of a shooting in the first block of Whitethorn Way, within view of Middle River. They found Worcester lying on the ground and bleeding from at least one bullet wound to the chest.Worcester was taken by a county Fire Department ambulance to Franklin Square Hospital Center, where she died a short time later, authorities said.
Police said witnesses reported seeing two men and a woman running from the scene in different directions. It was not known whether a weapon was recovered.The crew of a county police helicopter, at least one county K-9 unit and police on foot and in patrol cars searched the area for the suspects, but no arrests had been made late last night.Police asked that anyone with information call Baltimore County police at 410-307-2020 or Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7-LOCKUP (1-866-756-2587).

Now, go tell those you love that you love them.