Shirley Ann Brophy. January 17,1938 -February 24,2025

Shirley was the daughter of Walter and Eleanor Brophy.She was born in San Ysidro,Ca., just a mile from the Mexican border. According to her mom, Eleanor, her doctor lived in San Ysidro and Shirley was born in his home. She lived in Hawthorne with her parents, and at that time, she had 3 brothers,Howard, Richard and Larry , and 2 sisters, Betty and Marilyn.

Shirley attended St. Joseph Catholic School in Hawthorne for a short time before moving to Louisville, Kentucky in 1943. She met her life long friend ,Barbara Ann Linton ,while living there. In 1948, after WWII, the family, along with a new brother Bob, returned to Hawthorne where she continued her grade school years at St Josephs. From there she attended St Agnes High School in Los Angeles. When she was in 10th grade she met her future husband and the love of her life, Wally Mullin, at a Knights of Columbus picnic. They were introduced to each other by their mothers who were both parishioners of St Josephs Catholic Church.

When Shirley was 16 her youngest brother Bill was born. That year Wally was needing a date to a college dance. His mother, Bernice, called the Brophy house hoping that Eleanor’s daughter , Shirley , might want to go with him. She went to the dance with Wally and that was the beginning of their life together. Wally proposed to Shirley in her senior year of high school.

After her graduation in 1956, she took an office job at Northrop and they married on September 29,1956.

After the wedding they purchased a home in Torrance where over the next five years she had 4 of their children,Eileen, Tim, Laurie and Chris. They outgrew their 2 bedroom house so at the end of 1961 the family moved to Sungrove Street in Garden Grove. In 1964 she had her 5th child, Paul.

Shirley stayed very busy raising her family and babysitting for several children. She and Wally were also charter members of St. Callistus Catholic Church and grade school. She stayed active with the St Callistus Parent Guild by holding office and serving on various committees.

In 1973 Wally had the opportunity to to change careers by going into the grocery store business with his cousin Mary’s husband, Rick Lamy. He moved the family up to the high desert town of California City. During this time Shirley stayed at home to raise the children.

She enjoyed going to all the sports activities, volunteering at their church ,Our Lady of Lourdes ,and spending time with all of her friends.

In 1980, Shirley and Wally experienced a tragedy when their youngest son, Paul, passed away due to injuries from a car accident. At the end of that year, with their son Chris leaving the house, they were left with an empty nest.

She decided to take a job as a roving reporter for the local newspaper,The Enterprise.She enjoyed interviewing, writing, and taking pictures for her stories. She stayed there for 3 years before taking a secretary position in the counseling office at Mojave High School. During this time, Shirley took in and cared for her niece, Janet Brophy, for 4 years while Janet completed high school. After 19 years of working at Mojave High School, Shirley retired in 2003.

In her retirement, Shirley finally had the time to dive into her hobbies. She had a newfound love of genealogy and would sift extensively through her family history; mapping out her lineage for as far as she could go. She and Wally also enjoyed traveling together. They visited Hawaii, Ireland, and England. They went on cruises up to Alaska as well as down to Mexico. 

She also hosted foreign exchange students for a short time. They eventually downsized from their big house in 2012, to a two bedroom apartment in senior community. They stayed there for three years and in December of 2015 ,because of health reasons, found their way back to Orange County. They found a new home at Park Plaza Senior Living, in the city of Orange, to be closer to their daughter Laurie. They remained there until the end of 2024 when they had to make the tough decision to move to a higher care facility inLaguna Hills. After Wally’s passing in January of 2025 Shirley was moved back to Orange to live until her passing on February 24,2025.

In the Early 2000s, she had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. The physical challenges of her disease, particularly in the last 4 months, had become harder and harder to bear. She is now at peace and in the care of our Lord. She is reunited with Wally, her son Paul, and all of her loved ones.

Shirley was a loving ,kind and generous woman . She had a strong faith filled life. She was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Her family was everything to her as were all of her life long friends, of which she had many. She seemed to touch peoples hearts everywhere she went. The lives of her family and friends will never be the same without her in it, and her extraordinary, loving spirit will remain with them forever. She will be greatly missed.