Shirley McGlinchy

Shirley Mae (Thompson) Belleville McGlinchy, passed away peacefully on October 20, 2018. Born August 6, 1937, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire to Herbert Owens Thompson and Irene (Ladrie) Thompson. Shirley grew up in Portsmouth, attended Portsmouth High where she was a cheerleader and participated in many theatrical productions. Graduating in 1955, from Portsmouth H.S. she then attended Keene Teacher’s College in Keene, New Hampshire.

She moved to Ayer, Massachusetts where she began working at the Western Union office at Fort Devens, MA where she met Richard L. Belleville and the two were married in 1958. They relocated to California in 1959 where they bought homes in Encino and Reseda and started their family.

Shirley had a long and varied career beginning with Fox Plumbing in Van Nuys, then the City of Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), Pepperdine University, Raytheon, and the Election Division of the County of Ventura. She was exceptionally proud of the critical work she did in the development of the
B-2 Spirit airplane program at Northrup-Grumman.

Shirley loved to travel and spent many years touring the United States with her second husband Charles McGlinchy. She was a lifelong sports fan who passed on her passion for the both baseball and football to her children and grandchildren. She was both fiercely independent and private yet willing to talk current events and politics. Importantly, Shirley left a lasting legacy of love with her handmade quilts crafted for friends, family, and her many nieces and nephews. A quilt from Shirley remains a cherished gift.

Shirley is survived by five children, her daughter Pauline Belleville of Concord, New Hampshire; her son Leo Belleville of Naperville, Illinois; her son Timothy Belleville and girlfriend Tina Bell of Smyrna, Tennessee; son Michael Lee Stills and wife Tracie of Bristol, Rhode Island; and her daughter and son-in-law Dannielle and James Bickel of Oxnard, California.

She also had six beloved grandchildren, Britton Springer and her husband Shane of Oxnard, California; Ashley Cotter and her husband Rob of Virginia Beach; Jamie Bickel of Oxnard, California; Carson Pasricha and her husband Hans of Simi Valley, California; Megan Stills of Bristol, Rhode Island, and Sergeant Connor Bickel of the United States Army currently stationed overseas. Her two great-granddaughters, Monika Pennell of Smyrna, Tennessee and Marilyn Soto of Simi Valley, California and two great-grandsons are Bentley and Zane Cotter of Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Shirley is also survived by her sister Jeannette Binion of Port. Hueneme, California; her sister and brother-in-law Joan and Joe Langer of Chatsworth, California; a brother, Herbert Owens Thompson Jr. of Truckee, California; her sister Jean Kasem of Beverly Hills, California, her brother-in-law Raymond Belleville of Lowell, Massachusetts and Willis and Marjorie Belleville of Londonderry, New Hampshire. She also leaves behind many, many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

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