Shirley Van Billiard Myler

Shirley Van Billiard Myler passed away peacefully on March 2, 2022.

A sunset Celebration of Life will be held at the University Yacht Club Beach House on Friday, March 4, 2022 from 5- 7:00pm, 6700 Yacht Club Road, Flower Branch GA.

Shirley was born in 1930 in Rochester, New York to Ruth and Ernest Van Billiard.  She attended Nazareth College in Rochester, graduated as a Registered Nurse and worked for several years in various health care settings.  Shirley married Eugene Robert Myler in 1955. The couple moved multiple times during the early years of their marriage living in Texas, California, and Oregon as well as their hometown of Rochester.  The couple and their four children moved to Atlanta, Ga. in the mid 1960s.

Shirley was an active member of the Sandy Springs garden club, enjoyed playing tennis with friends at Chattahoochee Country Club, singing with St. Jude’s Catholic Church Choir and vacationing with family and friends in Destin, Fla.  She was an accomplished pianist (a great dancer, as well) who accompanied “The Flappers,” a trio of friends who performed hits from the 1920s through 1950s in three-part harmony.

Shirley was a founding member of TourGals, established in 1968, offering Atlanta area tour packages for women who accompanied their husbands on business trips to the city. Later, she founded Myler & Associates, a convention and meeting services company whose clients included IBM.  She also re-entered the healthcare field and volunteered for many years with the Northeast Georgia Health System.

After retiring, Shirley and Gene moved to Flowery Branch, where they were active members at University Yacht Club at Lake Lanier.  She loved being on the lake; in particular, Honeyoe Lake near her hometown, where her parents built a small cabin in the 1930s.  Her extended family enjoyed gathering there for many decades.

Shirley is survived by her four children, Kathleen (and her husband James Drummond), Jeanne (and her husband Michael Donovan), Tara (and her husband Rick Zerby) and her son, Joseph Patrick Myler. She has five grandchildren: Kelly and James Drummond, and Bridget, Sean and Kiera Donovan.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Junior Program of the Maritime Foundation at University Yacht Club, an organization whose members Shirley much enjoyed watching set sail each summer.  Make checks payable to Maritime Foundation/Junior Program and mail to c/o University Yacht Club, 6649 Yacht Club Road, Flowery Branch, GA 30542.

Memorial Park South Funeral Home, 4121 Falcon Parkway, Flowery Branch, Georgia 30542 is in charge of arrangements.  Send on-line condolences to www.memorialparkfuneralhomes.com.