Shirley Annette Wilson, 78, of Albany passed away peacefully in her sleep on Wednesday morning.

She was born and raised in Camden, N.J., to Thomas John Williams and Dorothy May Wainwright. She attended Grant Elementary and Cooper's Point Junior High in the Camden City Public Schools district before working for the John R. Evans Leather Company.

Shirley married Eugene Wilson on May 21, 1955, in her hometown of Camden. Eugene's Naval career took them up and down the east coast as they began their family. Stationed from one Naval base to another, Shirley made lifelong friends with the other Navy wives and their families, never forgetting to send cards to everyone one of them for any and every occasion.

After his retirement from the Navy in 1967, Shirley and Eugene moved to Oregon to raise their three children. In the early 1980s, with the children out of the house, she became a very active member of both the American Legion Post 10 and the VFW Post 584 auxiliaries. She spent many years and countless hours volunteering for the American Legion, from washing dishes or cashiering Friday night dinners, to rummage sales, to sending the auxiliary newsletter, to sending coupons to active duty military overseas, to supporting the poppy program, and to supporting Girls State.

Shirley was the American Legion Auxiliary's Poppy Chairperson from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. She will be remembered by many for supporting the poppy program year after year at her post in front of Bi-Mart, not allowing a single patron by without being asked to, "Wear a poppy for a veteran?" She was also the Girls' State co-chairperson for one year during the early 1990s. She loved the Boys' and Girls' State programs, and was always looking for additional sponsors to send as many girls each year as possible.

Shirley was sure to tell everyone about her "wonderful" grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Whether you came to visit or gave her a call, you could expect an update on all of them.

Shirley was preceded in death by her parents, Thomas and Dorothy Williams; brother Thomas "Lefty" Williams; sister Margaret Keen; and ex-husband Eugene Wilson.

She is survived by sisters Marion "Sis" Whiteman and Ruth Shindel-Waterhouse; brothers David and wife Wilma, Herbert and wife Barbara, and Robert and wife Janet Williams; sons Eugene and David Wilson; daughter Sharon Wilson; grandchildren Gina, Christine, and Nicholas and wife Jaimie Wilson; and great-grandchildren Haylee, Hayden, and Halayna Wilson, and Brianne Middleton.

The family would like to thank AAsum-Dufour Funeral Home and the American Legion Post 10 Auxiliary for handling arrangements.

A service will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday, June 5, at the American Legion Post 10, 1215 Pacific Blvd., in Albany. All are welcome.