Shirlee Prentice

Montville — Shirlee Prentice, daughter of Joseph and Mary Krysiewicz of Uncasville, was stricken at home quite suddenly on Wednesday evening, and died on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014.

She was born at home on Dec. 1, 1935, and went to WMI/The Williams School. She married Richard Prentice, her husband of 60 years who passed away just over three weeks ago. As a Navy wife, she lived in Massachusetts, Maryland, and Connecticut. They were stationed in Paris, France, for two years and the family traveled to Spain, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands.

When they returned to the States, she worked for an optometrist, then as a secretary at Montville High School. She worked more than 30 years as a dental assistant for Dr. Fordyce in Waterford and East Lyme.

Sheissurvivedbythreechildren, Pamela Doukas and her husband, Stephen, of Spring Hill, Fla., Rick Prentice of Uncasville and MaryEllen Adams and her husband, David, of Ogdensburg, N.Y.; as well as her two granddaughters, Sarah Koster of New London and Jen Adams of New York City; and a great-grandson, Sante Gallagher. She also leaves a sister and best friend, Darlene (Krysiewicz) Buckley and her husband, Bill, of Uncasville; her niece, Nikki Bunnell of Arizona; two aunts, Ruth and Anna Krysiewicz of Uncasville; and several cousins.

In addition to Richard, she was predeceased by her parents; a sister, Beverly Scovish; and Beverly’s sons, Walter and Joseph.

Shirlee’s way of saying hello to her first grandchild was “Hey, diddle diddle.” Jen’s childhood pronunciation of that was “DeeDee,” which became her family nickname. DeeDee and Papa ( as Richard was called) were the true north of the family, and their home acted as the Prentice headquarters for decades. She was the grand dame of the household, holding court while friends and family called or came by to report in, and at times it was suspected she secretly ran the entire world from her seat at the kitchen counter.

Shirlee was a no-nonsense woman and was admirably strong- willed. She doted on her children and grandchildren, and care packages and cards for her loved ones came like clockwork, each one dotted with post-it notes of encouragement in her distinctive cursive. She enjoyed plants and flowers and feeding the menagerie of wildlife that came to her back door. She possessed a seemingly extrasensory perception for crumbs in her always spotless house. She refused to sit down to a movie but couldn’t tear her eyes away when one was on, her hands clasped in nervousanticipation (even for a woman who went skydiving at the tender age of 61).

When she did anything, she did it in a big way, and she taught her family to love as such. She enjoyed dinners and outings with her dear close friends Joyce and Archie Plante. She was known for her extremely generous nature and her greatest pleasures were fussing over her kitties, watching her granddaughters play board games, and seeing her great-grandson dance and play around the kitchen.

Arrangements are with Woyasz & Son, Uncasville. There will be no calling hours, and there will be a joint service graveside in July.

Contributions in hermemorymaybemadeto the Oakdale Fire Department, who worked heroically to save her.