Shirley Edith Rees

Shirley Rees, age 86, passed away on October 17, 2018 after a short illness.

Shirley was born in Montreal, Quebec to Frederick and Edith (Yungblut) Guseck of Dorval, Quebec, both originally from Germany. In 1958 she immigrated to the US from Shawinigan Falls, Quebec with her new husband Richard, who had emigrated from Wales to Canada just a few years before. They settled in Wilmington.

Shirley raised three children while “seeing the world” as a DuPont Company spouse. She enjoyed the transfers to Orange, TX and later to Geneva, Switzerland and seized these opportunities to travel widely. A natural athlete, she was skilled in multiple sports, including horseback riding, and later was a stalwart at Brandywine YMCA exercise classes. Her enthusiasms extended as well to the arts, handicrafts and antiques. Shirley was very social, and dutiful towards her family and long-time friends. She also possessed a Canada-bred pragmatism that helped her deal with life’s misfortunes.

Shirley is survived by her husband of 64 years Richard W. Rees, her son Eric of Bethesda MD, her brother Howard Guseck and nephew Stephen Guseck of Dorval QC, and her granddaughters Julia Rees Toader of London and Amanda Rees of New York. She was predeceased by her daughters Glenys Rees and Andrea Rees, her daughter-in-law Diana Rees, and others who passed prematurely.

Friends are cordially invited to a memorial service and reception for Shirley to be held Saturday December 8, 2018 beginning at 11:00 am at Chandler Funeral Home, 2506 Concord Pike, Wilmington DE 19803.