Shirley A. Lacasse 90, passed away peacefully on September 18, 2022, at Durgin Pines, Kittery, ME.

Shirley was born August 10, 1932, in Acton, MA, to Colin W. Barry and Evelyn M. Farrar Barry.  She graduated from Wakefield High School in 1950 and the University of Massachusetts in 1954 with a B.A. in Elementary Education.  She married Armand N. Lacasse in 1953 and after her final semester at UMass, she joined him overseas for a year in Germany while he was a staff sergeant in the U.S. Air Force.  They had five children together, one daughter and four sons.  Shirley taught school for one year, but then chose to stay home raising her children.  Later she worked as a Kindergarten aide for a few years and then as an office manager at Woburn Orthopedics in Massachusetts.  She truly loved her job in the medical facility.  She also volunteered at several hospitals in Massachusetts and New Hampshire throughout her lifetime, most recently at Portsmouth Regional Hospital, earning a 1000-hour pin.

Shirley's family was the pride and joy of her life.  She loved them deeply and encouraged them throughout their lives to pursue their dreams and to be fully independent adults.  She loved to attend her children's and grandchildren's sporting events and made efforts to attend every game possible.  She also volunteered as a troop leader.

In addition to family, she had many lifelong friendships she kept for decades from various parts of her life, from childhood, college, and neighborhood communities.  She and six of her college roommates kept a "Round Robin" letter circulating for 70 years that is still current today.  Shirley worked tirelessly to memorialize all the special moments with family and friends throughout her life by creating a 30 volume photo album collection that will be shared as a lifetime legacy for generations to come.

While not raising her family and visiting with friends, Shirley loved baking holiday cookies for every occasion and loved to deliver them personally to neighborhood friends, her children, grandchildren, and place of work for every seasonal event.  She loved creating decorative holiday dried flower arrangements and centerpieces for the various holidays.  At Christmas she did double duty making hundreds of hand-made Christmas ornaments for all her friends and family.  She never arrived at one of her children's houses without homemade quick breads.  She was a very kind, sweet loving person, who always wanted to help in any way she could.  She never said an unkind word about anybody.  She presented a smile to everyone and was extremely welcoming to all she met.  Often the holidays were shared not only by her immediate family, but the friends of family that may not have had a place to spend the holidays.  Many a holiday meal was enjoyed by stories of the various friends that visited from many countries around the world.  Shirley loved to travel and explore the world, visiting several countries in Europe, South America, Canada and the Caribbean.

Shirley is predeceased by her husband, Armand N. Lacasse, her sister Verna C. MacDonald, brother-in-law William MacDonald, and daughter-in-law Karen A Lacasse.   She is survived by her five children, Susan Hobbs (spouse Jeffrey), Stephen Lacasse (spouse Arlene), David Lacasse (spouse Colleen), Mark Lacasse (daughter-in-law Elisa) and Richard Lacasse (spouse Kim).  She is also survived by 12 grandchildren – Randall, James and Elizabeth Hobbs, Michael, Brian, Katie, Valerie, Erika, Tami, Nicole, Hailee, and Thomas Lacasse; and 4 great-grandchildren – Emy, Henry, Francesca Lacasse, and Ella Brennan.

Visiting hours will be held at Hobbs Funeral Home, 230 Cottage Rd, South Portland, ME from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., Saturday, September 24 ^th , with a service to follow at 12:00 p.m., burial at Riverside Cemetery at 1:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a charity of your choice in Shirley's honor.