In Memoriam

In memory of my Aunt Shirley. A truly great and accomplished woman.
SHIRLEY FARLEY BURD AGE: 81 WILMINGTON, N.C. Shirley Farley Burd, 81, died Friday (Jan. 2, 2009) at the Commons at Brightmore in Wilmington, N.C. She was born in Pluckemin on Aug. 27, 1927, a daughter of the late Raymond and Katherine Horton Farley. She had lived in Pluckemin until moving to Germantown, Tenn., in 1972 and had resided there until moving to Wilmington, N.C., in 2003. Shirley was a registered nurse, having received her nursing degree from Somerset Hospital School of Nursing in 1948. She obtained her bachelor's degree in 1956, her master's degree in 1957 and her doctorate degree in nursing education in 1966, all from Rutgers University. Mrs. Burd worked as a nurse at Somerset Medical Center, Somerville, from 1948 to 1950 and at Lyons Veterans Administration Medical Center in Lyons from 1950 to 1957. She then became a professor of nursing and taught at Rutgers University College of Nursing in Newark from 1957 to 1966; at Vanderbilt University College of Nursing in Nashville, Tenn., from 1966 to 1972 and finally at the University of Tennessee College of Nursing in Memphis, Tenn., from 1972 until retiring in 1990. She was a member of the American Nurses Association and the Academy of Nursing. She was predeceased by her husband, Robert L. Burd, who died Sept. 16, 2003. Shirley is survived by two sisters, Katherine F. Sweeney of Wilmington, N.C., and Annette F. Azud; a brother-in-law, Ernest Burd of Vass, N.C.; a sister-in-law, Karen Farley Wilkinson of Marathon, Fla., and several nieces and nephews. Funeral services were held Jan. 6, at the Layton Funeral Home, 475 Main St., Bedminster. Interment was at Pluckemin Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Rutgers University College of Nursing, 180 University Ave., Suite 102, Newark, NJ 07102 or the Far Hills-Bedminster Fire Co., P.O. Box 431, Far Hills, NJ 07931. Special thanks is extended to the staff of Brightmore for the compassionate care shown to Shirley.