Obituary of Shirley M. Wilton

Shirley Woodruff MacKenzie Wilton, 88, died on January 20, 2016 at the Health Care Center of the Harrogate retirement community in Lakewood, New Jersey from complications related to Alzheimer's Disease. The daughter of Dr. Robert Abbe MacKenzie and Anne Thompson MacKenzie of Interlaken, New Jersey, she lived most of her life in Toms River, New Jersey. Shirley was a graduate of Asbury Park High School and Connecticut College. She pursued postgraduate studies at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, and later completed a Master's Degree in European history and further postgraduate coursework at the University of Michigan. She joined the faculty of Ocean County College the first year the campus opened, serving as a Professor in the Social Sciences Department. She taught courses in Western Civilization, Women's Studies and Children's Literature. As a woman entering the workplace in the early 1970s, she had to fight for positions and promotions initially denied her because of her gender. Those who knew and loved Shirley appreciated her for her intellectual curiosity, her progressive views, her artistic talent, her skill as a tennis and bridge player, her loving nurture of her children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and her faithful care of her parents who lived with her during their declining years. In retirement, she moved to the Carol Woods retirement community in Chapel Hill, North Carolina before moving back to the Jersey Shore, taking up residence at Harrogate. She was a member of the American Association of University Women, the Soroptimist Club, the Toms River Country Club, the Toms River Yacht Club, the Presbyterian Church of Toms River and, later, the Point Pleasant Presbyterian Church. She was predeceased by her former husband, Carlos Eugene Wilton, Sr.; her sister, Jean MacKenzie Bennett; and her brother, Robert Abbe MacKenzie, Jr. She is survived by her sister, Lois Mackenzie Borden of Toms River; her sons, the Rev. Carlos Eugene Wilton, Jr. of Point Pleasant Beach; James MacKenzie Wilton of Newton, Massachusetts; and David Reynolds Wilton of Toronto, Canada; her daughters-in-law, the Rev. Claire Irene Pula of Point Pleasant Beach and Erika Zamcheck Wilton of Newton; and her grandchildren, Benjamin Francis Pula Wilton of Portland, Oregon; Nicholas MacKenzie Wilton of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Anna Jadwiga Pula Wilton of Boulder, Colorado; as well as numerous loving cousins, nieces and nephews. The family is grateful to the staff of Harrogate and of the Meridian at Home Hospice for their caring assistance. The Pable-Evertz Funeral Home, 901 Beaver Dam Road, Point Pleasant, NJ 08742, (732) 899-3300, is in charge of arrangements. Visiting hours will be held at the Funeral Home on Friday, February 12 from 3:00-7:00 pm, with a memorial service taking place on Saturday, February 13 at 10:00 am at the Point Pleasant Presbyterian Church, 701 Forman Avenue, Point Pleasant Beach, NJ 08742. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Point Pleasant Presbyterian Church or to the Alzheimer's Association, PO Box 96011, Washington DC, 20090-6011. To share condolences with the family please visit www.pableevertzfuneralhome.com