Shirlee Irene Nelson Glass

Shirlee Irene Nelson Glass was born in Denver on December 26, 1929, to Oscar and Ruby (McAfee) Nelson.  She graduated from South High School in 1948. Shirlee attended the University of Denver and was a proud member of the IOTA chapter of Sigma Kappa.

Shirlee married Harry John (Jay) Glass, II on September 4, 1950.  Together they raised four children. 

Throughout her life, Shirlee was an avid and knowledgeable collector of antiques.  For many years, Shirlee owned and operated Yesterday’s Dolls, an antique doll store and hospital.  She was a consultant for Sotheby’s Auction House.  Shirlee also enjoyed creating period-appropriate costumes to compliment Jay’s collection of antique cars.

An animal lover, Shirlee always had at least two spoiled dogs at her side.  She once rescued a Western Painted Turtle that had been hit by a car, its shell broken in several places.  Shirlee glued the turtle’s shell back together and nursed it back to health.  That lucky turtle lived the rest of his life at Botanic Gardens. Shirlee spent years in her second career at Oppenheimer Funds.

In 1992 Shirlee and Jay relocated to the Eastern Shore in Baldwin County, Alabama.  They quickly developed a circle of close friends and were active in the Republican Party organization.

 Shirlee always loved gardening and spent countless hours working in her series of yards.  While living in Alabama, Shirlee became a Master Gardener. During their retirement, Shirlee and Jay traveled extensively around the southern United States and Europe.  They returned to Denver in 2009.

Shirlee will be deeply missed by her husband of 73 years, Jay Glass; children Lise (the late Richard) Seedroff, David (the late Patricia) Glass, Stacie (Gary) Harding and Laure (Scott) Levin; grandchildren Brad (Mandy) Blann, Adam (Amy) Blann, Kristina Hudson, Rachel Levin, Rebecca (Joseph) Dubroff, Lauren (Foster) Krueger, Jeffrey Evans, and Kerri (Marc Bressler) Evans; and eight great grandchildren.  She was predeceased by granddaughters Catherine and Victoria Glass, and grandson Reid Levin. 

In lieu of flowers the family requests donations in memory of Shirlee Glass be made to St. Labre Indian School www.stlabre.org.