Shirley F. McKay nee Haas, 79, died at her home on Friday, December 19, 2003 in San Diego where she had retired with her husband in 1987. A former resident of Glen Ellyn and Oak Brook, Shirley was the loving mother of 11 children and was the beloved wife of cardiologist, Joseph P. McKay, M.D., who died in 1989. Shirley was a graduate of Elmhurst College 1946 and received her Masters Degree in Speech Pathology from DePaul University in 1965. She was a staff member of Loyola Hospital and Michael Reese Hospital, where she aided stroke victims and cleft palette patients. She also worked with children as a speech therapist in the West Chicago schools and in private practice. Shirley was an active member of her community and was committed to service. She served as co-chairperson of Loyola Medical School’s Stritch Dinner. Having herself survived two breast cancers, she counseled and comforted other brest cancer patients. Shirley was a faithful member and active participant in the Catholic Church and dedicated to clergy, families and charities. In 1983, she received the highest honor given by the Pope to a layperson. Lady in the Order of the Holy Sepulcher. A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered on Monday, December 29, 2003, at 7 p.m. at St. Petronille Catholic Church, 420 Glenwood Avenue, in Glen Ellyn. Burial will be private. Besides her husband, she was preceded in death by her children, Robert William, Mary Louise and Joseph John, by her siblings, Mildred Guedel, Ruth O’Grady, and Fred Haas Sr. and by her son-in-law John Wittig. She is survived by her children, Catherine Wittig, Barbara (John) Langloss, Maureen (Bruce) Beck, Colleen (Richard) Martin, Peggy (Richard) Hart, Michael (Mary) McKay, Timothy (Susan) Mckay and Patrick (Kirsten) McKay, and by 17 grandchildren. She will also be missed by sisters-in-law Anne Haas and Mary (James) Egan, and brothers-in-law James A. McKay and Orville Guedel, as well as by many loving cousins, nieces, nephews, and dear friends. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made for Masses in Shirley’s name or to a favorite charity.
