Legendary singer Pat Boone is in mourning this week after his beloved wife Shirley, who he had been married to for 65 years, passed away last Friday due to complications from vasculitis. She was 85 years-old.
Pat and Shirley were high school sweethearts who had been inseparable their whole lives. He was with her when she passed away at their home, as were their four daughters Cherry, Lindy, Debby, and Laury. Shirley’s family sang her favorite hymn together as she slowly slipped away.
Legendary Singer and Christian, Pat Boone, Mourns Passing of Wife, Shirley: ‘She’s Moved to a Different Mansion’ https://t.co/d49fbS1FgK pic.twitter.com/T5cTmVgeYa
— BCNN1 (@bcnn1) January 12, 2019
“We lived a wonderful, blessed life together for 65 years. I’ve parted with my better half for a little while… but we don’t die, we just move on to another place, and today was moving day,” whilst adding, “She’s changed her address is all and moved to a different mansion that I expect to join her in one day.” “I’m very confident of that,” Pat said in a statement. “That took the sting out of what happened today because we know we’re gonna be together again and have a whole new beginning.”
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Shirley Boone 1934-2019 #shirleyboone #patboone #debbieboone #boonefamily #boonegirls
“We were very much in love,” Pat added.
Pat and Shirley fell in love when they were 16, and after eloping in 1953, they had four daughters in the next five years. They originally settled in Teaneck, New Jersey before moving to Beverly Hills, California where they lived for the next fifty years.
Rejoice in the birth of our Lord and Savior. May the blessings of Christ be upon you and your loved ones this season and into the New Year. pic.twitter.com/eyfVqUwXN5
— ThePatBoone (@Pat_Boone) December 25, 2018
Over the years, Pat and Shirley welcomed 16 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
“The thing that would most fulfill her was to be a good wife, and mother, and grandmother and to create happy homes,” Pat said.
Shirley’s Christian faith was one of the most important parts of her life, and she even started a billion-dollar Christian ministry.
“We didn’t have the perfect marriage, but it helps to marry a magnificent woman,” Pat said. “You make your commitments to God and each other, and in troubled times, you hang on to the commitment to God, and to your kids. You see the problems through and you find you’re stronger because of it.”
Our sympathy to Pat Boone and family in their loss of their loved one. https://t.co/E1baFpRsOm
— Jerry Woods (@JerryWoods8491) January 12, 2019
Pat went on to say that the thing that he will remember most about his wife is her desire to give back.
“She had an honest, deep, earnest love for people and her desire to help people as activist,” he said. “She was so easy to love because she loved so easily and so naturally.”
Please keep the Boone family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time!
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