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Shirley J. Hall
I was born on September 16, 1934 and raised by a loving family in Birmingham, England, during World War II.
After elementary school, I attended a Grammar school and left home at the age of eighte...view moreI was born on September 16, 1934 and raised by a loving family in Birmingham, England, during World War II.
After elementary school, I attended a Grammar school and left home at the age of eighteen to attend Rolle College, Exmouth, Devon, which specialized in Teacher Training.
I have spent all my life as an educator, first in England, then on overseas assignments with oil companies who operated elementary schools for the children of their expatriate employees. I did tours of duty in Venezuela from August 1958 until June 1964 with the Shell Oil Company. I was successful in obtaining a post with another oil company and moved to Iran in August 1964 where I remained until 1969.
From Iran I relocated to Spain where I taught privately. I also bought a horse. Correspondence with Pipsi led to a life changing decision and I joined her in June 1972 in New York. We began living openly together as a lesbian couple in September 1972.
We moved to California in 1974. Pipsi continued her career as a Travel Consultant. I attended university and obtained both teaching and administrative credentials.
I held both teaching and administrative positions in various fields of education in California, retiring finally in 1993. In the same year I became a US Citizen. Pipsi and I became "Registered Domestic Partners" on July 18th, 2003, just one step on the ladder towards "Equal Rights For All". We were partners in every sense of the word. Both cancer survivors, we treasured each day spent with family, friends and each other until Pipsi passed away on October 3rd,2008.
Sylvia L. Paymer, known as Pipsi, was born in Antwerp, Belgium, on June 16th, 1930. Her parents were Marc and Regine,Neukorn, who already had a three year old son named Andre. The family lived in a large apartment and employed a cook and care-givers for the childrenview less