WOLFEBORO ---- Shirley Marie Winther Dunham, also known affectionately as Shirl Marie, Shirl the Whirl and sometimes Shirl the Pearl, passed peacefully on Sunday morning, April 12, 2026, at Mountain View Community, in Ossippee, NH.
She would have been 90 this September 25. Originally from Beverly, MA, Shirley was the daughter of Niels Christian and Johanna Winther.
She is survived by her loving husband and partner in crime, John W. “Jack” Dunham. They had been married for almost 70 years and raised four children together.
Shirley had enough energy for four people. She and Jack loved a good time and Jack still does. She worked hard and played hard and shared her zest for life with everyone she met. Shirley attended the nursing program at Lowell General Hospital then somehow found her way into the real estate business of Barbara Goldberg and Associates in Beverly, MA. There she quickly became a trusted friend of Barbara and her family and proved herself to be a top agent, being voted Realtor of the Year several times.
When the Dunham family lived in Beverly, life revolved around the Danvers River and the ocean where family and friends enjoyed swimming, boating, fishing, clamming, lobstering and fun at Obear Park. There always seemed to be some neighborhood dinner/dance party, fundraiser or cook out going on and if Shirley wasn’t directly responsible for organizing it, she could be counted on to be in the thick of it, making sure all ran smoothly and that everyone had a great time.
The family camped together at Lake Side Pines in Maine for years and motored up and down the coast in Jack’s cabin cruiser, The Sea Rover, often camping out with friends at Misery and Baker Islands or docking for the night at Motiff #1 in Rockport, MA and at other ports along the coast. In 1977, Shirley and Jack purchased a weekend home on Pine River Pond in Wakefield, NH and the fun continued. Like the Beverly house, along with adults, the lake house was constantly full of children of all ages.
The door was always open, something was always going on, and many of those kids grew from being toddlers well into their teens there. It was a place for water skiing, tubing, pontoon boat parades, fishing, campfires, the infamous “Christmas in July” bash, home to the infamous Pine River Chapter of the Audubon Bird Watchers Club (if you know, you know LOL!), along with countless other gatherings with friends and family. So many memories were created in both places with some of the shenanigans being nothing short of legendary! Ten years ago, when the lake house got to be too much to care for, Shirley and Jack moved to a retirement community in Wolfeboro, NH. There they met many wonderful new friends who not only look out for each other, but also like to have a good time. So, it goes without saying that Shirley carried on in her role as activity and fun director.
Shirley loved to travel. Her parents were from Denmark and she took them there for a month-long visit with family who still resided there. She also spent a month with American friends who happened to be living in what was Russia at the time. She and Jack traveled throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada. They enjoyed snowmobiling in Yellowstone, wintering in Florida, went on Caribbean and Alaskan cruises, and enjoyed visiting historical sites wherever they happened to be. Shirley loved this country, was very patriotic and considered Fourth of July her “high holiday.”
Among the many gifts Shirley had to offer others, one was knowing how to spread joy and she did so to so many people. Whether you were family, friend or even a stranger, she was always there to lend a helping hand to anyone who needed it. I choose to believe Shirl the Whirl is not “resting in peace” at all. Nope, she, along with her family and friends who have been waiting for her to arrive, have all been restored to the prime of their lives, are whooping it up and dancing their socks off for the rest of eternity.
In addition to her husband Jack, Shirley is survived by her children, Cheryl Trimpop and her husband Bruce of Lovell, ME, John Dunham of Brownfield, ME, Robert Dunham and his wife Kimberly of Danvers, MA and William Dunham and his wife Jennifer of Danvers, MA. Shirley adored her grandchildren Dylan, Tyler, Zachary, Christian, Colby and Cooper and her great-grandson Declan. The number of other family members and friends whose lives Shirley touched, and whom she loved, are too numerous to mention here, but you know who you are. She is predeceased by her four older sisters, Marjorie Dale, Betty Campus, Lilly Pomfret and Norma Adams.
There will be a Celebration of Shirley’s Life on Sunday, May 17, 2026, from 1:00pm until 4:00pm. It will be a "mighty party!" She would expect nothing less. It will take place at the American Legion Hall, Post, #72, 164 Wolfeboro Highway, Rte. 28, Alton, NH 03809.
Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services/603Cremations.com, 164 Pleasant St., Laconia, NH, 03246, is assisting the family with arrangements. For more information and to view an online memorial, please visit wilkinsonbeane.com.