Her Death Was in Many Ways an Amazing Human Experience

 24 Years Ago Today

Thursday 26th of February 1998
Psychiatric patient and artist Shirley Ardell Mason aka Sybil Isabel Dorsett dies of breast cancer at the age of 75 in Lexington, Kentucky, United States.

Mason is survived by her parents, who were members of the National Association of Health Plans (NAHP). Her parents, including the late Shirley, who attended Mason's birthday party, will be memorialized next year. The members of National Health Planning Association, USAID, and Kaiser Permanente, as well as her parents and a few local hospitals, will also receive her service poster on Tuesday.
A postscript, written by Andrew F. Wilson, as follows:
The first time I witnessed Shirley's funeral the other day I could not believe how little she cared about men and women, how much care they gave, and how much respect she gave to the other men and women in her life and the people I had seen over the years. We were always aware of her importance and the great joy she seemed to draw upon me after a long illness was what really made me want to die. Her death was in many ways an amazing human experience. My best wishes would be met with silence and not any more emotional grief. However, that will never change for Shirley and other people like her. The fact that in our time she was able to be remembered as the first to take this many life-threatening medicine shots that would provide the first hope.