LAKE LUZERNE, NY – Shirley Ann Reed Cortelyou died at Albany Medical Center on September 15, 2017 of acute leukemia.

Born in Trenton, New Jersey on July 17, 1937, Shirley graduated from Princeton High School in 1955 and Glassboro State College (now Rowan University) in 1959 and became an elementary school teacher for the next five years.

On December 26, 1959 she married the Reverend James (Jim) U. Cortelyou at the Princeton Theological Seminary's Miller Chapel in Princeton, New Jersey. In 1968 they moved to Watertown, New York where they raised their two children.

While in Watertown, Shirley served as the Executive Director of the Jefferson County Women's Center from 1982 – 1984. She later returned to college to attain a Master's degree in Library Science from the State University of New York at Albany in 1994 after which she worked as a Reference Librarian at the Atlantic County Library System, including Mays Landing, New Jersey, from 1994 – 2002. She was a member of the Beta Phi Mu International Library Science Honor Society.

Shirley and Jim retired in 2002 and fulfilled their dream to live in the Adirondack Park by moving to Lake Luzerne, NY.

A life-long member of the Presbyterian Church, Shirley served as both an elder and deacon over the years. She and Jim have been members of the Presbyterian New England Congregational (PNEC) UCC Church in Saratoga Springs, NY since 2013. She also very much enjoyed playing in various church hand bell choirs and volunteering at the Serendipity Thrift Shop in Lake Luzerne, NY.

Shirley is survived by her husband Jim, her children Cathleen (Cathy) Cortelyou Pieroni (Mark) of Poway, CA and James Daniel (Dan) Cortelyou (Andrea) of Guilderland, NY. She is also survived by her brothers Kenneth C. Reed (Susan) of Lancaster, PA and William T. Reed (Danielle) of San Francisco, CA. She is also survived by her four grandchildren: Laura Grange (James), Maria C. Pieroni, Matthew J. Cortelyou and Anna R. Pieroni. Shirley was preceded in death by her parents, Clarence E.and Marie Bennett Reed, and an infant sister, Lillian May Reed.

A Celebration of Life service for Shirley will be held at 4:00 pm on Saturday, September 23, 2017 at the Presbyterian New England Congregational UCC Church, located at 24 Circular Street, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 and officiated by the Reverend Kate Forer. Memorial contributions can be made to AOET Uganda at www.aoet.org and to the PNEC UCC Church.

Arrangements are under the direction of the William J. Burke & Sons/Bussing & Cunniff Funeral Homes of 628 North Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 (518-584-5373).

Online remembrances may be made at www.burkefuneralhome.com.