Shirley Dringoli

Shirley (Brigham) Dringoli, 85, of Overland Park, passed away Saturday January 8, 2011 at St. Joseph's Hospital. She was preceded in death by her daughter, Helen Hamilton, and is survived by her daughters Pamela Dean O'Dea (Dennis) of Destin, Florida, Linda Newton of Overland Park, and her son Richard Dringoli of Grand Prairie, Texas. She is also survived by her grandchildren David Dean, Benjamin Dean, Jason Newton, Nicholas Newton, and Melanie Newton, and three great grandchildren. Visitation will be at Johnson County Chapel, 11200 Metcalf, Wednesday January 12 at 10:00am, followed by Services at 10:30am. Burial will be at Johnson County Memorial Gardens. Shirley was born May 30, 1925 in Fall River, Massachusetts to Helen and David Brigham, the youngest of three daughters. Shirley loved children, and became a foster mother at the very young age of 18. She went on to operate two successful day care centers out of her home; Tiny Tots Preschool in Reno, NV, and Polka Dot Preschool in Overland Park, KS, all while raising her own four children. Her fun loving, creative and compassionate nature touched literally hundreds of children's lives. Animals were another passion and she almost always had a beloved dog by her side. Cats, hamsters, guinea pigs, ducks, a bunny and even a prairie dog were all on the list of Shirley's pets throughout the years. If a lucky stray happened to find it's way to Shirley's house, it was a stray no longer. Shirley was the foundation of our family and will live on forever in our hearts. In Lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Wayside Waifs at 3901 Martha Truman Rd., KCMO 64237.

---