Shirley Pozzato

Shirley Anne Pozzato, 90, most recently of Putnam, CT, passed away peacefully on June 22nd, 2025, at home, surrounded by her devoted daughters, and her outstanding hospice aide, Sue.

She was born on July 29th, 1934 in Woodford Green, England, the second daughter of John and Ivy Marshall.

Shirley and her two sisters were evacuated, as children, to the Westcountry of England, during “The Blitz” of London, in WWII.

She grew up in Devon, England, where she developed her lifelong love of the sea.

Shirley emigrated to the USA, in search of a better life. And, while attending classes to obtain her citizenship, she met her future husband, Carlo Pozzato, with whom she had become smitten, while she was teaching her Italian classmate how to improve his English.

They ultimately married, and remained together until his untimely death from leukemia, in 1987.

Shirley had studied in England to be a horticulturalist and was tremendously knowledgeable in all things botanical.

She worked as a professional orchid grower with the Rod McLellan Company in South San Francisco, CA, for many years. And, in 1984, she was honored, by having an orchid named after her (Vuylstekeara “Shirley Pozzato”.)

A lifelong, avid gardener, Shirley left behind beautiful gardens everywhere that she lived, including in Redwood City, CA; at St. Elizabeth’s Church in SSF, CA; in Bethesda, Maryland; Tumon Heights, Guam; San Diego, CA; Spotsylvania, VA; and in North Bend, WA, while she was living with one, or the other, of her two daughters.

She was also a voracious reader of mysteries and thrillers, and her sharp wit made for the most amusing meeting notes ever written, during her tenure as the secretary of the Sunlight Garden Club of Spotsylvania, VA.

Shirley leaves behind her elder daughter, Adelia White (née Pozzato), a former, U.S. Navy nurse, and her two children, Carlo and Julia Lombardo; and her younger daughter, Lydia Pozzato, a retired FBI SSA, with whom she had lived for the past 34 years. She also has many, living relatives in England, and in Italy (through her late husband.)

Considerate to the end, Shirley requested that there be no funeral, so none of her friends from around the world would feel obligated to travel long distances, “Just to say, ‘Goodbye”, especially since I wouldn’t be there,” as she firmly stated it.

Instead, her daughters ask that her beloved friends and family share some of their fondest memories of Shirley on her online guest book, for all to remember her by, at www.GilmanAndValade.com

Her final resting place will be with her husband, Carlo, in the columbarium at Cypress Lawn Cemetery in Colma, CA.