Shirley Ann Gregory, 85, of Roanoke, Virginia, passed away Thursday, February 22, 2024, at her home near Northside High School.

She was born on November 1, 1938, in Noxapater, a small town in central Mississippi, and was the daughter of Fred Richard Gregory and Mary Paulin Johnson Gregory of Noxapater.

Ms. Gregory attended East Central Community College in Decatur, Mississippi, and graduated from Mississippi Southern College (now The University of Southern Mississippi) in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

She joined the original faculty at Northside High School in Roanoke, Virginia when it opened in 1960 and taught history and geography at Northside for over thirty years. She was always well-liked by the students and is a legend amongst the Northside alumni. She developed lifetime friendships with her students and had an amazing ability to remember students' names even later in her life. She was a frequent attendee at the Class reunions for the Class of '63, the first graduating class of Northside.

As a young teacher, she bought an MG Midget and later a Triumph Spitfire which impressed the students and are fondly remembered. She enjoyed reading and playing bridge and golf.

Ms. Gregory was preceded in death by her parents and two siblings. She is survived by a brother and sister.

Services information is as follows:

Friday, March 1, 2024, at 1 p.m. at Simpson Funeral Home Peters Creek Chapel.

The family to receive friends 1 hour before service time.

Private interment.

Arrangements by Simpson Funeral Home Peters Creek Chapel (540)366-0707.

https://www.tributearchive.com/obituaries/30852585/shirley-ann-gregory