Shirley (Parkinson) Lein

Shirley Lein, 89, of Midland, Michigan passed away peacefully at Midland Hospital on Friday, May 10, 2024. Shirley was born in Bradford, United Kingdom on August 15, 1934, to Grace Annie Colley and John Parkinson. Her childhood was lived in the shadow of World War ll. She went to school carrying a Mickey Mouse gas mask (created to make it less scary for children) and needing ration book stamps to buy a pair of shoes.  Shirley married Richard M. Lein, Staff Sergeant in United States Air Force stationed at Chicksands, on November 15, 1952, in Bradford, England.  When her husband was transferred back to the U.S. they purchased a home in Riverside, California and had two children, Lesley Ann and Michael Owen. The Air Force had them living in Illinois, South Dakota and North Dakota. Upon her husband’s retirement, they moved to Toledo, Ohio, where his parents and siblings resided. Shirley was Office Manager and co-owned Toledo One Realty with her husband, managing apartment buildings in Toledo, Sylvania, and Perrysburg. She lived in Toledo for 55 years and in February 2024, moved to Midland, Michigan to be closer to her daughter.  Shirley never lost her English accent and was kind to all she met along her path with a fondness for letter writing always including clippings from newspapers and magazines that would interest the recipient. In addition, Shirley also enjoyed searching out books at the libraries and researching her family ancestry.

Shirley was preceded in death by her loving husband, Richard; parents, Grace and John Parkinson; brother, George; and sister-in-law, Pearl. She is survived by her daughter, Lesley (Michael) Ringlein; son, Michael (Hiromi) Lein; grandson, Lt. Col. U.S.M.C. Jonathan (Christina) Ringlein; granddaughter, Christine (Heath) Maser; great-grandchildren, Ella Maser, Leah Maser and Alexander Yule-Ringlein; sisters-in-law, Carol Sue Prand and Sandra Lein, and numerous nieces and nephews here in the USA and England.

A visitation will be held on Saturday, May 18, 2024, at Reeb Funeral Home at 5712 North Main Street, Sylvania, Ohio at 10:00 AM, with the service to follow at 11:00 AM with interment at Toledo Memorial Park. Those wishing to offer memorials are asked to consider the charity of their choice. Online condolences to reebfuneralhome.com

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