Myrna Ann (Shaw) Grady, our beloved Mother and longtime resident of Inverness, Florida, passed away at her daughter’s home in Ocala, surrounded by her loving family on November 16, 2021. Myrna was born on August 21, 1932, in Holyoke, Massachusetts, to the late Benjamin Wallace Shaw and Helen Marie Cecilia (Hurley) Shaw.
She grew up in Springfield and attended Van Sickle Junior High School, where she met her soulmate and future husband, William “Bill” E. Grady, Sr. They went to the High School of Commerce where she studied stenography and played the trumpet. She graduated in 1950, and “Bill” left to join the United States Navy at the age of 17, to serve during the Korean War.
During his time in the service, waves of love letters flowed in from her beloved Sailor. One of her favorite memories was when he mail-ordered a box of 100 baby chicks to her apartment, and the challenge she faced of gathering and rehoming that rambunctious flock.
But Dad had met his match! Mom was just as clever as he was. When he sent her a letter in Morse Code, she quickly deciphered it, sending her response back in shorthand. With great apprehension, he had to find someone on the ship who could translate the possibly scandalous letter for him. Born was Dad’s new nickname for her, “Stinker,” and from it came her collection of skunks, a surfeit of hundreds of figurines, gifted to each over the course of their 50-year marriage. He created a special word for her, keeping the meaning secret for many years. First written on a fogged mirror for her to figure out, it would be written on every Christmas card, birthday card, anniversary card, and finally on the tombstone they would now share at the National Cemetery, a symbol of their rare and beautiful love story… “Fostaily,” shorthand for “From One Stinker to Another I Love You.”
After their marriage, they relocated to Jacksonville, FL, and then to St. Petersburg, where they spent the next ten years. They loved to camp and discovered Mutual Mine Campground in Inverness in the 1960s, spending many weekends there before settling in Heatherwood in 1972. They were both hairdressers, and owned Plaza Hair Fashions in the Citrus Plaza and Williamsburg Hair Fashions in Beverly Hills.
Myrna was very involved with her children and active in the community. She was a member of the Citrus County Goodtime Cloggers, a 4-H leader, a CHS Band Booster, and a supporter of the FFA. In honor of her husband’s service aboard the USS John R. Pierce, Myrna also served as the annual Reunion Coordinator for those servicemen.
Myrna, raised in a family of proud Irish heritage, was Catholic by faith, a parishioner of Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in Inverness, and an active member of the Golden Agers Club at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Bushnell. She was a creative craftswoman and seamstress, a passion that was passed down to her and that she passed down to all of her children. She made our clothes, Halloween costumes (for a family of nine, imagine!), bridesmaids’ dresses, and taught all of us, boys and girls alike, to sew, embroider, and crochet.
Not only that, but she taught us how to raise and tend a garden and how to ride a horse. The simplest pleasures in life brought her great joy. She especially loved the outdoors, camping, the beach, nature, and the magic of Walt Disney World, where she formed many cherished memories with her children and grandchildren.
She was a woman of boundless energy and had a strong love for her family. In addition to being a nurturing and caring mother, she was also a loving and devoted wife. Following Dad’s devastating stroke in 1984, she turned a 24-hour prognosis into 24 more years. Her selfless care and personal attention blessed him with a quality of life that was nothing short of a miracle. In sickness and in health, she was committed to him and treasured the time they spent together.
Those left to mourn Myrna’s passing include her children: Teresa Selva, Edward Grady, Eileen Grady, William Grady, Jr., Patrick Grady (Rozanne), Myrna Grady Weeks (Randy), Kathleen Grady Scott (Mario Intelisano), Deborah Payne (Richard), and Michael Grady (Anne). She also leaves behind many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. In addition to her husband, William, Myrna was preceded in death by her siblings: Francis Shaw, Wallace Shaw, and Mary Murphy.
The Mass of Christian Burial will be offered on Tuesday, November 23, 2021, at 11:30 AM at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Bushnell, FL with Father Waldemar Maciag, Celebrant. Following Mass, a committal service will take place at Florida National Cemetery at 1:30 PM. Arrangements are under the care of the Chas E. Davis Funeral Home with Crematory, Inverness, FL.
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