Shirley A. McVeigh's Obituary
The family of Shirley A. McVeigh, age 83, of North Ridgeville is saddened to announce her
passing on September 15, 2025. Shirley was born February 25, 1942 in Elyria to her loving
parents Robert and Dorothy (nee Squires) McVeigh.
She graduated from North Ridgeville High School and was a member of the National
Honor Society. She started work as a secretary at General Industries and married her
High School sweetheart, Jerry Hales, in 1962 and they had a daughter, Dawn and a son
Mark. They belonged to the Lions Club and enjoyed dancing to Big Bands and Square
Dancing. She was a member of the North Ridgeville Congregational Church her entire
life and lived her entire life in North Ridgeville.
In her younger years she was a homemaker, helping in the family business (Hales
Florist and Greenhouse) and enjoyed being involved in community care in North Ridgeville with her sisters-in-law. She also enjoyed baking, sewing, gardening and freezing the fruit from their tress and canning vegetables from the garden that was planted by Jerry
and her father on their property on Stoney Ridge. She retired as an Assistant Administrator at Invacare Corp in Elyria in 2012 after 32 years of service. She loved vacations at Linwood, Vermilion and being by the lake and camping, traveling to her favorite Bar
Harbor, Maine and traveling several times to Grand Marais, Michigan with her sister’s
family and grandson Matthew. Also, she enjoyed attending all her grandchildren’s sporting
events. Her favorite was taking her grandchildren on weekend trips camping to the state
parks, to Washington, DC and any fun place.
She was a dedicated parent and a loving spouse filling our lives with warmth and
kindness. Shirley is survived by her daughter, Dawn (Hales) (John) Alpine and son,
Mark (Coleen) Hales, grandchildren Nathan (Katelyn) Alpine, Matthew Alpine, Kyle
Alpine, Katelin (Michael) Wilmitch and Kendra Hales, 4 great grandchildren, sister
Barbara Shively (Steve deceased) of Dayton, OH and brother James (Gay) McVeigh of
North Ridgeville, several nieces and nephews and cousins.
She was preceded in death by her parents, brother-in-law, Steve Shively and nephew
Jason Shively, ex-husband, Jerry Hales and special cousin, Thomas Hutchison.
Shirley wished to be cremated, A Celebration of Life on Sunday Sept 21 from 2:00pm to 5:00pm with a ceremony lead by Rev. Cliff Morris beginning at 2 PM at the Bogner Life Celebration Center, 7295 Greenlawn Drive (adjacent to the funeral home) North Ridgeville.
A burial Service will be held Monday September 22 at 1:00 pm at St. Joseph/ Elmhurst Cemetery, 32789 Detroit Rd. Avon, Ohio, please arrive at 12:45 pm for procession.
What’s your fondest memory of Shirley?
What’s a lesson you learned from Shirley?
Share a story where Shirley's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Shirley you’ll never forget.
How did Shirley make you smile?