Obituary of Shirley E. Lord

Shirley E. Lord, widow of Philadelphia Common Pleas Court and Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Judge Charles A. Lord, died peacefully on Saturday February 4th at Meadowood in Skippack, Pennsylvania, where she had resided for the past two years. Mrs. Lord was only two weeks away from her 95th birthday. Mrs. Lord was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1922, the daughter of Warren and Margaret Clark Ellice. Mrs. Lord met her future husband when they were both students at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. After her future husband returned from his World War II service in the Navy, they were married and moved to Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania, where they lived and raised their 5 children. Mrs. Lord was a dedicated mother to her 5 children, but had a very active life after her children were grown. For 17 years she worked as a teacher's aide for special needs children in the Plymouth Whitemarsh School District. She was active in the Plymouth Whitemarsh chapter of the American Field Service promoting international student exchange programs, and served as the chair of the chapter. She was very active as a docent at the Philadelphia Zoo for almost 20 years, and wrote numerous articles for the Docent Data, the journal of the Philadelphia Zoo docents. She also enjoyed many winter trips with her husband and his golfing friends and their wives to Florida and the Caribbean . Mrs. Lord is survived by her 5 children: G. Craig Lord (Rosemary) of Philadelphia, a retired Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge; Charles A. Lord, Jr. (Judi), a retired salesman of Charlotte, NC; Kenneth S. Lord (Chris) of Collegeville, PA, a builder; Susan C. Lord of Miamisburg, OH, a registered nurse; and Barbara J. Lord of East Norristown, PA, a dental hygienist. She is also survived by 11 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren. Internment will be private, but a memorial service will be held in coming weeks to which all of Mrs. Lord's and her family's friends will be invited. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to the Philadelphia Zoo Docent Council , 3400 Girard Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104.