Shirley Millikan DeGrey, who arrived in La Cañada with the wave of the post-WW II settlers and made her mark in education and many civic endeavors here, died March 30 at the age of 90.
DeGrey, who also covered school and other events for the Valley Sun after retiring from teaching in the La Cañada Unified School District, was known for her enthusiasm, her devotion to family and friends and for her deep love of music.
"Shirley was a dear friend of mine from the moment I moved here more than 40 years ago," said Dorothy Maddux. "To me she just exemplified what a friend is: so caring and helpful. She was somebody you just knew had your back."
It was Maddux who, as a staff writer for the Valley Sun in the early 1980s, coaxed DeGrey into filling in for her while she took a vacation. DeGrey's work so impressed Joe DuPlain, the paper's owner at the time, that she was invited to stay on after Maddux returned.