SHIRLEY MAY ELAM LINEBACK 

Shirley May Elam Lineback passed away on Saturday, June 12, 2021, at Norfolk General Hospital in  Norfolk VA, after a stroke. She was visiting family on the east coast at the time of her death. 

Shirley was born on September 22, 1934, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and lived there with her  parents, Lelia Dean Elam and Glenn Edgar Elam, her two brothers, Glenn Jr. and Richard, and two sisters,  Diane and Carolyn.  

After graduation from R.J. Reynolds High School in 1953, she went to work for A.Z. Smith & Co., a  business that supplied hardware to furniture manufacturers. One of her co-workers, O’Neita Lineback,  introduced Shirley to her nephew, Harry Lineback, and they married in 1957. Harry was an aviator with  the U.S. Navy so, as a military spouse, Shirley moved her family every two years from Virginia Beach VA  to Key West FL, Monterey CA, Toms River NJ, Patuxent River MD, and finally, in 1974, to Chula Vista CA  where she lived for the rest of her life. 

Shirley was a competitive bowler, had a green belt in karate, was an enthusiastic participant in Jazzercise  and Zumba classes, and an avid beachgoer. For several years in the late 60s and early 70s, she and her  family canoed rivers and creeks in and around Virginia, New Jersey, and Maryland nearly every  weekend. She was a cheerleading soccer “mom” to grandson Charles Robert Lineback, confidante to  her namesake granddaughter Amelia May Willenborg, and caregiver to granddaughter Sedona Elizabeth  Lineback when she was little. 

She traveled the world to locations including the Philippines, Japan, and Trinidad & Tobago. A devout  Christian, Shirley sang in numerous church choirs. She also joined the Southwestern College Choir and  performed with them in Italy and Greece, at the Sydney Opera House, the Cathedral at Notre Dame, and  Carnegie Hall – three times!  

Shirley was a loving person and a true friend to all with a zest for life that kept her forever young. She will be remembered for her tender heart, kind spirit, and her exceptional ability to meet everyone on  their on terms. 

Her greatest joy was her family, including her four children: Deborah (Patrick Willenborg), Nadine (Terry  Miclat), Ron (Licela Soto Hernandez), and Todd (Jennifer Lineback), as well as her numerous nieces,  nephews, cousins, and in-laws. 

In lieu of flowers, donations in Shirley’s memory may be made to her spiritual home, Hilltop Baptist  Church, 740 Hilltop Drive, Chula Vista, CA 91910.

The family invites you to a memorial service for Shirley on Thursday, July 22, at 7 PM, at Hilltop Baptist Church, 740 Hilltop Drive, Chula Vista CA 91910.