Obituary
Fort Myers Beach, FL – Shirley Haney Rouse, 86, passed peacefully on March 11, 2021. She was born June 9, 1934, in High Point, NC, to Ressie Floyd (Jack) and Mabel Cockman Haney. She graduated from High Point High School in 1952 and married Walter Jackson (Buster) Rouse May 14, 1955. She worked for Jefferson Pilot Insurance, Kelly Girls Employment, Sam Nunn’s Georgia Senatorial Campaign, as Production Secretary for several movies, the Army Corps of Engineers, and for the USAF. She volunteered at the High Point Hospital for 30+ years, and at the High Point First United Methodist Church. Shirley was a member of the NC Civil Air Patrol, the American Business Women’s Association, and Chapel by the Sea in Fort Myers Beach. She enjoyed meeting new people and exploring new places via Walt’s USAF stations: Marietta, GA, Landstuhl, Germany, Myrtle Beach, SC, Rocky Mount, NC, Mobile, AL, Savannah, GA, Washington DC, and Phoenix, AZ. After Walt’s retirement in 1982, they enjoyed traveling throughout the world (more than 26 cruises!) and flying all over the US and Caribbean in Walt’s airplane. When both daughters moved to Fort Myers Beach, Florida, she and Walt began spending increasing time there as well. She is predeceased by Walt, her parents, and brother Charles E. (Katherine) Haney of Elon College, NC. She is survived by two daughters, Jaye Rouse of Fort Myers Beach, and Carol (Carl) Phillips of Jamestown, NC, and granddaughter Logan Phillips of Greensboro, NC.
There will be a Celebration of Life for both Shirley and Walt at a later date.
When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people’s gardens
And learn to spit.
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.
“Warning” ~ Jenny Joseph
In lieu of flowers, if you would like, please make donations in Shirley’s name, to any charity or organization of your choice.
Shirley Rouse