Shirley Nanevicz
April 12, 1932-Feb. 18, 2025
Palo Alto, California

Shirley Whaley Nanevicz passed away peacefully in her sleep at the age of ninety-two after a brief illness on February 18, 2025. Shirley was born in De Soto, Missouri to Earvin Dewey Whaley and Berdie Belle Larkin. She attended William Jewell College and Washington University before moving to Palo Alto, where she worked as a radiology technician at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. During that time, Shirley met Stanford PhD candidate Joseph E. Nanevicz. They married in 1955 and settled in Palo Alto, where they raised four children. After one of her children was diagnosed with dyslexia, Shirley took an interest in educational remediation. She went back to school and earned both a BA and MA in Special Education, Speech Pathology, and Audiology from San Jose State University in 1975. She then joined the Stanford Speech and Language Clinic, where she worked until its closure in 1978. Shirley went on to teach at the Charles Armstrong School, first in Ladera and later in Belmont. In addition to practicing speech and language therapy, Shirley used the Slingerland/Orton-Gillingham method to tutor children with reading difficulties. In 1986, she became a Special Day Class teacher and Resource Specialist in the Santa Clara Unified School District. Shirley was especially proud of her work with the children of local farmworkers, ensuring that each one learned to read. Shirley served on the board of the Northern California Branch of the International Dyslexia Association and contributed to programs focused on early diagnosis of learning disabilities. She also tutored children with reading issues, from across the Bay Area, in her home. Shirely was fortunate to have all four of her children return and settle their families in Palo Alto. She then took on the role of doting grandmother to her eight grandchildren, being an integral part of their daily lives. Shirley’s front door was always open, and she welcomed anyone who wanted to stop by and talk. She loved to hear everyone’s life stories; she shared her own deep joy for life with everyone around. Shirley was preceded in death by her husband of 50 years in 2005. She is survived by her four children: Nicola Willits (Richard), Mark Nanevicz (Lourdes), Tania Nanevicz (Evan Vogel), and Michael Nanevicz (Karen). She will be dearly missed by her eight grandchildren: Jeffrey, Charles, Peter, Benjamin, Sofie, Josephine, Alexandra and Joseph Jacob.

Tags: teacher/educator