Shirley Dorothy Winbourne

Shirley Dorothy Winbourne

December 10, 1935 – November 23, 2025

Sadly, we said goodbye to our beloved Shirley Dorothy Winbourne (nee Johnston) on the evening of Nov. 23/25, just shy of her 90th birthday. Shirley will be greatly missed and lovingly remembered by her daughters Lisa and Janet, by her cousin Jennifer (Steve) Smith and family, and niece Victoria (Mike) Pollard and family. Shirley was predeceased by her beloved husband Jim in 2011.

Born and raised in Birkenhead, England, Shirley travelled to Canada at the age of 21 to join her brother Ron and never really looked back! She met Jim Winbourne in Montreal, they returned to England to get married, then permanently moved to Canada in 1959.

One of Shirley’s first jobs in Canada was working with the CBC in Ottawa. It was a great opportunity to launch her professional life and a stepping stone to a long career working as a stenographer, school secretary and library assistant. The family lived in various locations in eastern Canada then moved from Ottawa to Nanaimo in 1973 to settle in Departure Bay. Once retired from work in 1997, Shirley blossomed in dozens of volunteer roles, new hobbies and a quest for learning. She was a long-time member of the British Club, the Horticultural Club, and tended a beautiful garden at her Piper’s Lagoon home. She also volunteered for Global Village, the Port Theatre and the Vancouver Island Symphony.

Throughout her life Shirley had a love of tennis, ping-pong, sewing and knitting, classical and jazz music, gardening, and travel. She was willing to try anything and shared adventures all over the world with her friends and daughters. Her sense of humour, laughter, kindness, adventuresome spirit and gentle nature will be forever missed.

We encourage people to share personal stories and photos to commemorate this special woman. A later in-person gathering will be held in spring at Piper’s Lagoon Park – a place very dear to her heart.