Susan Williams Shipley Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

DIANA SUSAN WILLIAMS SHIPLEY passed away peacefully in her sleep, at her St. Augustine, Florida home, on May 25, 2022, surrounded by her devoted Daughter, Son and Sister. She was born on April 26, 1949, in Staten Island, New York, to the late Capt. Earl O. Williams (USN, Ret.) and Grace Irene Baird Williams, both of whom are buried at the Arlington National Cemetery. As a Navy Junior, Susan grew up attending multiple schools throughout the country and overseas, yet never lived on a military base nor attended a military base school. This resulted in unintentionally learning and speaking multiple English dialects. Upon returning to the States, her British accent was flawless, which brought about much gentle teasing from her older Florida cousins. Later, as an Ancient Greek Scholar, her language proficiency greatly paid off in the end. She graduated from Arlington, Virginia’s Washington & Lee High School in 1967. She enrolled as an in-state student at Florida State University, majoring in Philosophy, Religion and Greek. After college she returned to the family home in the Washington, D.C. area, and worked on Capitol Hill for Congressman Robert Stevens, Jr. of Georgia. The Watergate investigations had just begun and Pages were franticallyrunning through the Capitol hallways, trying to locate any staff members who could transcribe Nixon’s 46 secret tapes. Susan happened to be one of the fastest and best transcribers on the Hill, so Congressman Stevens freed her up to work on this history-making Watergate audio recordings. She was given a copy of the work: “Submissions of Recorded Presidential Conversations of President Richard Nixon,” April 30, 1974; it is over 5 inches high. During this time, Susan was also doing volunteer work to help resettle Laotian refugees into the D.C. area. They became lifelong friends. She met her future husband, Michael Clayton Shipley, and soon they moved to the beautiful countryside of Virginia, in Haymarket. A few years later, in 1978, their daughter, Diana Wynne, was born, followed a few years later by their son, Stephen Michael Shipley. The Maryland cousins begged to visit as much as possible, as Aunt Susan was their most favored aunt of all, the best cook of all and she.also let the children draw and paint on her basement wall. She was their hero. House renovating became her new hobby. Not many people amass the diverse DIY skills that she mastered on her own. From electrical wiring, carpentry work, drywall installations, jack-hammer and sledge hammer work, deck building and sliding glass door installations, she could do it all, and still look like a million dollars. The County Inspectors were amazed at her in-depth knowledge and proficiencies. This second home, “Hollybrook,” in Oakton, Virginia was now a showpiece. She rekindled her childhood English knitting skills, paused for afternoon teas, and soon had multiple heirloom-quality cable knit blankets everywhere in her beautifully restored home. St. Augustine finally beckoned her back to her Florida roots in 1994, and to the multiple cousins and family members living there. She singlehandedly remodeled her St. Augustine home and turned it into a private oasis, beautifically surrounded within tall living “Green” fences of giant Scheffleras, which she had propagated herself. Her secret garden rivals many of those found in Provence or Tuscany. Her botanical skills at plant propagation were famous, and she generously shared her plants with everyone. Other skills and hobbies included mouth-watering dinners and unrivaled pastry delicacies, always.seemingly impossible to replicate. No one could ever beat her at Scrabble, even near the end of her life. Her mind was as sharp as a tack, as was her body, from her daily, heavy toiling in the gardens. Genealogical research was another favorite hobby of hers. Best of all, her long beach walks with her dogs, collecting shark’s teeth, were legendary. Her record of finding 99 shark’s teeth in one hour still holds. She searched over the next 2 hours to find the 100th tooth. Alas, it was not meant to be. Until very recently, she worked for years for the St. Johns County Sherrif’s Dept, as a Corrections’ Officer. The bond of friendship, loyalty, teamwork and respect that everyone shared was one of the most important and satisfying parts of her long career there. From singing harmony with her other talented cousins, to playing the piano, to listening to her favorite classical music, Susan was such a kind-hearted person, who was always there for everyone whenever they needed a helping hand or support. There seemed to be nothing that she could not do. She was one of a kind : beautiful, brilliant and iconoclastic…..a Renaissance Woman. She was preceded in death by her parents, Earl and Grace Williams, and is survived by her two children, Diana Wynne Shipley Stepanek and her husband, Dr. Joshua Gene Stepanek, and Stephen Michael Shipley, as well as her sister, Wynne Williams McCormick (husband, John Grayson McCormick,Sr.), and multiple nieces and nephews: Goddaughter and niece Susan McCormick Scarborough (Jason Mark Scarborough), sons Patrick McCormick Scarborough and Edward McCormick Scarborough; Niece Patricia McCormick Klein (Justin Rowland Klein), daughter Grayson McCormick Klein and sons Charles Rowland Klein and Andrew McCormick Klein, and her Nephew, John Grayson McCormick, Jr. (Jason) and his baby son Henry Grayson McCormick. A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date. For those who may care to make a donation in her name, in lieu of flowers, a contribution to the K9s For Warriors (K9sForWarriors.org), would be greatly appreciated. Condolence messages may be easily viewed or left on the www.Legacy.com website by typing in her name, as Susan Williams Shipley, in the Search box. Funeral arrangements are being handled by the Craig Funeral Home of St. Augustine, Florida.

Tributes

Susan Williams Shipley

April 26, 1949 - May 25, 2022