Obituary of Shirley Ann Washburn

Shirley Ann (Gallerani) Washburn, 86 of Warwick, RI, formerly of Wareham, MA, passed away Tuesday, December 28, 2020. She was the wife of the late Edward A Washburn Jr. and the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Vittorio and Evelyn (Tosi) Gallerani. She started her career as a laboratory technologist working in both Wareham, MA and Providence, RI. Shirley then transitioned to bookkeeping roles for a variety of companies, including the former Davisville Credit Union of Wickford, RI. She will be most remembered for her political career with the City of Warwick, with a host of roles, including serving on the Democratic Ward Committee for decades. Shirley held appointments on various city boards before becoming a full-time Warwick city employee working as a payroll clerk until retirement. She also volunteered her time by working backstage on many campaigns, being labeled "a Political Fairy Godmother." She even received an appointment to the Electoral Review Committee of the RI Senate. Shirley is survived by her loving children Jean (Washburn) Correia and Paul E Washburn (Glenda), sister June (Gallerani) Stec, brother Richard Gallerani (Eleanor), daughter-in-law Francesca La Rosa, granddaughters Melissa, Nicole, Kristen, Jennifer, Stacy, Emanuela and Evelyn, and thirteen great-grandchildren Kyle, Jameson, Lee, Kalie, Kayden, Jaxson, Khloe, Logan, Kaleb, Julian, Jolie, Jacob and Connor. She was the mother of the late David A Washburn, sister of the late Louis Gallerani, mother-in-law to the late Charles Correia, and brother-in-law to the late Joseph Stec. Shirley was an avid world-wide traveler, and she loved scrapbooking all of her amazing trips. Her other hobbies included rooting for her New England sports teams, reading, doing the daily crossword puzzle, and playing Candy Crush on her tablet. Above all, her family was the light of her life. She enjoyed time spent together over anything else, especially by taking her whole family on cruise vacations. A drive-through visitation will be held Sunday, January 3, 2021, from 2-4 PM (Attendees must remain in vehicles) at the Mount Pleasant Funeral Home, 168 Academy Avenue Providence, RI. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated Monday, January 4, 2021, at 10 AM in Saint Patrick's Church, 82 High St, Wareham, MA. Burial will follow at Evergreen Cemetery, Marion, MA. For further information and condolences, please visit mountpleasantfh.com. In lieu of flowers, gifts in memory of Shirley's son, David may be directed to support esophageal cancer research at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. Please make checks payable to Johns Hopkins University. Gifts may be mailed with a memo indicating that this gift is in memory of David A Washburn to the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, PO Box 17029 Baltimore, MD 21297-1029.