Shirley E. (Paul) Sharbaugh

Shirley Elizabeth (Paul) Sharbaugh, 97, a long-time resident of Altoona, PA, passed away on Tuesday, July 9, 2024, surrounded by her family at Penn State Holy Spirit Medical Center, Camp Hill, PA. Born on December 1, 1926, in Roaring Spring, PA, she was the daughter of the late Henry D. and Mary E. (Ayers) Paul. She married Paul L. Sharbaugh, Jr. on April 7, 1948, and celebrated 56 years of marriage prior to his death on April 30, 2004. She was also preceded in death by her brother, Henry and sister, Beverly.

Shirley graduated from Roaring Spring High School (Class of 1944) where she played the clarinet in the school band. She went on to become a Registered Nurse after successfully completing Altoona Hospital’s School of Nursing in 1947. Shirley began her professional nursing career at Altoona Hospital, with a majority of her nursing career spent at the former Hillview Nursing Home from where she retired.

She was a loving and devoted wife, mother, sister, grandmother, great and great-great grandmother who enjoyed spending time with family and friends playing cards, games of all kinds, or just having fun sharing stories and enjoying some cocktails. She had a wonderful sense of humor and enjoyed a good joke, had a heart of gold and was genuine almost to a fault. She and her husband loved to travel and visited many different places with a visit to Rome and the Vatican among their favorites. They also vacationed annually on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina and have many fond memories of times spent there with friends and family. 

In her later years, people often remarked that she resembled Queen Elizabeth and, as a result, she was lovingly referred to as “Queen Bee” by her family. After her husband’s death, she relocated to Raleigh, NC where she joined the Red Hat Society and was a parishioner of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church and a member of its Prayer Shawl Ministry.

For anyone who knew Shirley well, you know that she adored her family, and she also enjoyed a good party. So, while tears were shed on the 9th, the family also raised their glasses in toast knowing that Mom was on her way. God is good…Amen, Amen!

Surviving Shirley are her children, Charlotte Palko (Joseph A. Jr.) of Wake Forest, NC, Michael Sharbaugh (Cynthia) of Altoona, PA, Audrey Sharbaugh (John Riddle) of Durham, NC, Kathleen Farnham (Jeffrey) of Durham, NC, Gail D’Angelo (Robert) of Mechanicsburg, and Carol Bullock (Rodney) of Bluffton, SC; grandchildren, Christina Palko (Scott DiStefano) and Daniel Palko (Shawn), Travis Sharbaugh and Troy Sharbaugh (Julie), Paul Goodell (Jessica Heironimus), Jessica Shook (Brian), Rebecca D’Angelo (Collin Farley) and Victoria D’Angelo (Teddy Ramsey), and Samuel Massimilla (Cecelia) and Thomas Massimilla (fiancée Lauren Marsic); step-grandchildren Kimberly Farnham, Sarah Farnham, Elizabeth Holcomb (Brian), David Shaw (Kristin), and Jessica Sheets (Anthony); seven great-grandchildren; one great-great-granddaughter; a sister, Maryella Shoenfelt of Roaring Spring, PA, and many nieces and nephews.

A mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. on Saturday, August 10, 2024, at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, 1 Cathedral Square, Altoona, PA 16601. Inurnment will follow the mass at Calvary Cemetery, 2417 Pleasant Valley Boulevard, Altoona, PA 16602.

Funeral arrangements are being handled by Stevens Mortuary, 1421 Eighth Avenue, Altoona, Pennsylvania 16602. In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution in Shirley’s name to the American Heart Association at www.heart.org.