I met Shirley through you. When I first met Shirley many many years ago in Toronto, I said to myself: wow, Johnson, what a lucky guy!

In my view, Shirley is a beautiful, photogenic woman who combines the worldly experience and ambition of a career-minded professional with the virtue of a traditional family-oriented girlfriend and wife of Johnson.

I remember I was one of the “associate” groomsmen at Shirley and Johnson’s wedding. The bridal party really made us work hard to win entrance to the bride’s house, including eating and drinking something quite unthinkable. After we passed our tests, Shirley finally appeared. The glow on her face and her a big happy smile made our efforts all worth while.

Shirley appears quiet, but once you initiate the conversation, you can immediately feel her energy. I sat next to her at Maria and Eric’s wedding. I asked a simple question about whether she was still travelling to Middle East for work. Shirley’s eyes brightened and she immediately shared with me her travel adventures, giving a very colourful commentary on the peoples and cultures she had encountered along the way. When you first met this petite beautiful lady, you could not have imagined the rich life experience she had.

Shirley and Johnson were made for each other. (Of course Shirley is by far the better looking one :)

She also takes great care of Johnson. Back in August, Johnson flew from SF to our wedding. When Johnson’s flight was delayed, Shirley was worried that no one would pick up Johnson at the airport and take good care of him. So she emailed me, called me and left me a voice message – on the day before my wedding! As if Johnson was the only guest I had to take care of! But this just goes to show how much Shirley really cared for Johnson.

We were supposed to meet up with Shirley in late October but it did not happen. The last word we exchanged with Shirley was an email dated Oct 20, in which she wrote:

“We received your blanket for our baby yesterday. It is v comfortable. Thank you.”

Shirley – we’ll miss you dearly, but don’t worry, we’ll be there for Johnson and Carina. Together we’ll keep your spirit alive.

Love,

Rebecca and Garry