Shirley Ann Dearing, 78, of Martinsburg, passed away Monday, January 19, 2026, surrounded by her daughter and friends.
Born April 17, 1947, in Marlinton, she was a daughter of the late William A. Gallaher (1920 – 1994) and Opal P. Friel Gallaher (1911 – 1996). Her father served in the Army in World War II and both mother and father were hard workers who instilled in her the values of education, resilience and responsibility.
Shirley’s first husband, Gib Sage, who preceded her in death, was her high school sweetheart and father of her only child. They married when he was in the Navy and she was in her senior year at Shepherd College. She became the first student to be allowed to live in the dorms while pregnant. They were married for six years. She later married Douglas Dearing, a deputy sheriff of Martinsburg, who was retired from the Air Force. They were married for 19 years and remained close friends. Doug is now 91 years old and was by her side an hour before she passed. As a profound example of her loving and selfless nature, Shirley gave one of her kidneys to her sister and only sibling, Virginia Shafer, in 1991. She was a perfect match and her act of generosity helped to prolong her sister’s life long enough to develop a relationship with her grandson, William Shafer.
Shirley was a lifelong educator and a passionate mathematics teacher. A distinguished student, she skipped a grade in elementary school, thus, graduated early and as Valedictorian of her Marlinton High School Class of 1964. She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in mathematics education from Shepherd College in 1968 and continued to earn additional graduate hours throughout her career. Humorous fact, Shirley had considered being a hairdresser but changed her mind to become a math teacher after having been discouraged from pursuing teaching math, as she was told that only men become math teachers.
Her celebrated career as a mathematics teacher spanned 37.5 years, all of which were spent dedicated to the students at North Middle School in Martinsburg. She was a creative innovator who helped students bridge the difficult transition from arithmetic to algebra. Her teaching philosophy involved making abstract concepts “visible” through tools like the T-Square and demonstrating that learning could be fun. Her instruction was engaging and sprinkled with humor. She loved to make people laugh. She is remembered as a prankster by her colleagues at North Middle. She created and distributed a series of witty writings known as, “The Hot Flash,” which featured many of the faculty in good humor and having everyone laughing in tears.
Beyond the classroom, Shirley made a notable contribution to the field of mathematics education as the co-author of the article, Factors and Primes with a T Squar., The article was published in the journal, The Arithmetic Teacher, a publication of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. This was a premier achievement that placed her in the top percentile of professionally engaged educators. After retirement, Shirley worked for Shepherd University from 2011-2015 as a Field Supervisor in Math, where she was challenged to help upcoming teachers become better with classroom management and instructional delivery.
Shirley was known and admired throughout the Martinsburg community.
Through her professional relationships and having touched so many lives, she remained connected and compassionate even after retirement. Students, parents of students, administrators and colleagues continued to reach out to Shirley over the years. She substituted and tutored and was with Berkeley County Schools for so long, she ended up teaching children of former students’ children.
Shirley was a devoted “dog mom” who found great joy and comfort in her pets. She fell in love with the Pomeranian dog breed and found having three dogs to be all she could handle. Her fur babies kept her quite busy during her retirement years. She is survived by her dogs: Annie, a Maltese, and two Pomeranians, Roxie and Sophie. She was preceded in death by two other beloved Pomeranians, Sage and Ellie, and prior to them, her most prized baby boys, Buffy, also a Pomeranian and Pumpkin, a Chihuahua.
Shirley’s commitment to being an excellent educator and an outstanding human being was evident in the number of people who loved her and were inspired by her. Her greatest accomplishment, however, was being an amazing mother and setting a profound example. The bond between Shirley and her daughter, Lori, was indescribable in another dimension of love.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her older sister, Virginia Lee Gallaher Shafer; and nephew, William Shafer.
She is survived by her loving daughter, Lori Ann Sage, of Leesburg, Virginia.
Shirley Dearing will be forever in our hearts.
Plans for her farewell include two separate memorial services to honor her memory in the places she called home. One service will be held at Brown Funeral Home in Inwood. A second service is planned for a warmer season, likely in the spring, at VanReenen Funeral Home in Marlinton, with a date and time TBD.
Shirley requested, in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made to Wags ‘N’ Whiskers & Everything In-Between, 258 Jacobs Road, Martinsburg, WV 25404
Arrangements are entrusted to Brown Funeral Home.
Online condolences may be shared at BrownFuneralHomesWV.com
