Obituary of Shirley Soccolich

Soccolich, Shirley, 87, of Cold Spring Harbor, passed away on November 30th. Loving mother of Rosalie (Michael). Beloved grandmother of Lauren. Dear sister of Raymond Mock, David Mock (Sue), and sister-in-law of Leonardo. Cherished aunt of Roxanne, Veronica, Bettina, Jennifer, Davina, Len (Mila), and Robert (Amy). Visitation will be held Saturday 9 – 11:30 AM, at M.A. Connell Funeral Home, 934 New York Ave., Huntington Station, NY. Interment to follow at Huntington Rural Cemetery.

Shirley Soccolich enjoyed living life on her own terms. She was the daughter of Chinese immigrants, born in New York City, and some would say she always navigated between worlds. This was illustrated in her writings about her childhood experience regarding religion, "On the one hand we were asked to bow our heads and worship gods, deities and ghosts of past ancestors with burning incense, at the same time we were taught in Sunday schools to believe in Jesus Christ and God as the Almighty with no other gods before him. We were practicing heathenism while we were saying prayers at bedtime to God to forgive our sins. Such problems." She was a deeply spiritual person who loved her husband, family, the ocean and the students she taught over the years. Education and learning were the keys to her life and her life purpose. She earned two masters, one in English Literature from Columbia University and loved shaping the future by teaching her students English Literature at Martin Van Buren High School. Shirley and her husband, Bruno traveled extensively, mostly visiting his island homeland in Croatia and many islands in the Caribbean. They remained active even after retiring, joining the US Coast Guard Auxiliary, spending time on their boat and out enjoying nature.  After Bruno passed in 2002, Shirley officially became a "snowbird", splitting her time between Florida and Cold Spring Harbor. She joined the United Methodist Ladies Club, continued her love of reading and did her "own thing" through retirement. To say she was a free spirit to those that didn’t know her, doesn’t do her justice. Even toward the end when we discussed how the hospital should take care of her, her response was defiant, "I do not want you to resuscitate me nor intubate me, I've lived a good, full life and have no regrets. I've done everything I wanted to do and I do not wish for you to artificially prolong it." She died as she lived, on her own terms with her loving daughter, Rosalie and granddaughter, Lauren by her side.