It was with great sorrow that the College informed us of the passing of Shirley Fee, a beloved teacher and colleague in the Commerce Department at Vanier College. She

passed away after a long hard-fought battle with cancer on June 10, 2011.

With her leadership skills and passionate nature, Shirley devoted 25 years to teaching over 7000 students here at Vanier and will be greatly missed. A tremendous exhibition of the love and respect she engendered over her years here was shown by the huge attendance at her funeral on June 15th at the Mountainside United Church in Westmount. Her obituary is reproduced at the bottom of this page.

TRIBUTES SENT IN BY FORMER STUDENTS AND FRIENDS

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Read below a tribute sent in by Mike Muyal in January 2016. Mike was a student of Shirley’s at Vanier in 1987 and 1988, and then later went on to become a friend and acquaintance of hers.

I am shocked and saddened by hearing of Shirley’s passing. I was also Googling her name, to try to get back in touch, and found out about her passing almost SIX years ago now. Man, where has the time gone…

I had her as an Advertising and Marketing teacher, in Vanier in 1987 to 1988. She always encouraged me, and supported me. It was my favourite class by far.

I remember one time she even held up my project work and used it as an example of the “right” way to do a project – that’s how much pride she had in me.

 

But her biggest influence in my life came after I had graduated. I was in my third year of Concordia University, and I had been keeping in touch with her off and on. Since I would be graduating, she then put me in touch with one of her former colleagues from Clairol, and gave that hiring manager a strong recommendation for me. I went on to work a summer job in Consumer Packaged goods marketing – a dream job for a 20 year old grad. That summer job led to a full-time job, and ultimately a progressive career in marketing in Montreal and later in Toronto. It really was HER influence that helped me get to where I am today.

My last memory of her came from about 1996 or 1997, when I was still in Montreal. We met for lunch somewhere on the West Island, and just caught up and reminisced – and while she was in my eyes still a “teacher”, I also marveled at how she was a great mom and wife.

I remain completely in her debt, to a certain degree. I am so sorry she passed way too soon. I hope her family is coping and I offer my support and condolences.

I wish more people were like Shirley.

– Mike Muyal

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Read below an anecdote forwarded to us in November 2011 by a student of Shirley’s, Matthew Chatelain.

I don’t know why, but I was thinking about some of my former teachers this weekend. I had Google searched a few to see if they were still teaching or had retired. Shirley Fee came up because she was a big influence on me while I attended college. I went to Vanier from 2002 to 2004 and was in the Commerce program. It actually doesn’t even seem that long ago, but after writing the dates down, you realize that time really does pass quickly. Shirley Fee was my Fundamentals of Business teacher and my Business Law teacher.

I was completely shocked to hear of her loss. Out of all my teachers at Vanier, Shirley Fee was, without a doubt, the one I enjoyed the most.

She was very approachable, always put her students first, and taught us well. You can tell that she enjoyed teaching.

There was one great moment I had with her, which has always stuck out. I was studying in the Business Administration room in the N Building, where the offices were. I had a lot of trouble with Calculus (which is ironic, because I ended up becoming an actuary) and Shirley Fee had passed by, noticed that I was struggling and took the time to sit down with me to talk things out. I was never “naturally smart” and always had to work hard at things, and Shirley Fee gave me that encouragement.

I cannot believe that she is gone. My condolences go out to her family, friends, and her colleagues. She will definitely be missed.

Thanks,
Matthew

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Read below a short anecdote sent in by Steve Fergus, who attended Vanier College as a student and was a classmate of Shirley’s back in 1971.

I attended Vanier in 1971. I met Shirley Fee that year. She was a beautiful girl; that was the first thing you noticed. Shirley was also kind, friendly and generous. She was always fun to be with.

I never saw nor heard from Shirley after that year but she was the kind of person you remember forever. I hope she had a great life. She really deserved one.

Steve Fergus

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OBITUARY

FEE, Shirley September 16, 1954 – June 10, 2011

She left as she lived with great strength and beauty. Peacefully, on Friday, June 10, 2011. Shirley Ann Fee, daughter of the late Elston (Ted) and Pauline Fee (Strachan), passed away after a long hard battle. Having blessed the lives of many throughout her life she was an inspiration to us all. With her always in heart and spirit were her husband Donald Hunt and her two children Tyler and Anthony. As a loving mother they were never far from her mind. She was a beloved sister to Jackie (Campbell), Joan (Howard), and James (Wendy) and sister-in-law to Ken (Sue) as well as a cherished aunt to Michele, Scott, Christopher (Owen) Andrea, Kristin, Danielle (Taylor), Reni, Dillon, Zoe (Fee), Donald, Tina, Brian and David (Hunt). Her generous spirit, her tremendous kindness and her compassionate nature touched all those who knew her. She had an ability to find something positive in every situation. With her leadership skills and passionate nature she devoted 25 years to teaching over 7000 students at Vanier College. She was also an active volunteer for the Sergeant’s Bay Yacht Club for over 15 years. Heartfelt thanks goes to the people who helped at home, the CLSC Metro, the Montreal General Hospital, and the Neurological Institute during her long fight with cancer. Their involvement and commitment made such a difference to Shirley during this time. Memorial Service was held on Wednesday, June 15, 2011 at 2 p.m. Mountainside United Church, 687 Roslyn Ave, Westmount. In lieu of flowers, investments in Kiva.org were appreciated.
(Published in The Montreal Gazette from June 11 to June 14, 2011.)

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