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Funeral services were held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 18, 2018, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Carlowville for Gayle P. Shorter, 81, of Camden, who died July 29,  in Camden after a brief illness. The Rev. Mark E. Waldo Jr. officiated the service. A family visitation was held from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 17, at Camden United Methodist Church. A reception followed the service at the Church reception hall.

Mrs. Shorter was a homemaker and beloved wife and mother. She was born on March 7, 1937, in Albany, N.Y. She was the only daughter of Ralph Nelson Prince and Edith Price Prince of Castleton-on-Hudson, N.Y. As a young girl, she grew up in Castleton and graduated from Schodack Central High School in 1955. She went on to attend the University of Maine in Orono – Class of 1958 – where she studied home economics.

In 1998, Mrs. Shorter completed a lifelong dream to finish her college degree by attending and graduating with a bachelor’s degree from Huntingdon College in Montgomery. At the University of Maine she met her lifelong companion and husband, Walter Wyatt Shorter, and the two were married in 1957. She and her husband, Wyatt, a paper industry executive, started married life together in Franklin, Va. She and Wyatt raised five children, three of whom were born in Franklin. After moving to Montgomery in 1968, they had two additional children. In 1978, they moved to Camden where they lived the remaining years of their life together.

Gayle was an avid musician and loved to play piano. One of her favorite pastimes was pulling out her piano books and praise music to play for family and friends. She also found great joy playing the church organ and was the church organist at several Episcopal churches throughout her life. Even in her last weeks, she would sit at the piano and play her beloved music.

Cooking was also a passion. Gayle’s ability to concoct a delicious meal from a variety of common ingredients was well known. Many folks have had second helpings of one of “Miss Gayle’s” casseroles. And, at Christmas, it was always a treat to get one her renowned coffee cakes.

She was also quite the gardener. Gayle landscaped the yards at homes in Montgomery and three separate homes in Camden. Her vision for transforming a yard into a masterpiece of botanical beauty were well known within her garden club community in which she was an active member.

She was also a woman of strong faith and completed her study for the Deaconate in the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama. She was the organist and a member of the vestry at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church of Carlowville. She was also an active member of Alabama Cursillo and completed her EFM through the University of the South.

 

Her father, Ralph Nelson Prince of Maine; her mother, Edna May Price of Massachusetts; her brother, Nelson Brian Prince of New York, and her husband, Walter Wyatt Shorter, of New York, preceded Mrs. Shorter in death.

Survivors include her brother, John Frank Prince of South of Amhurst, Ohio, and her children, Walter Wyatt Shorter Jr. (Debbie) of Germantown, Tenn., Margaret Shorter Robinson (Lonnie) of Meridian, Miss., Matthew Peasley Shorter (Sara Kate) of Americus, Ga., John David Shorter, USN (Ret) (Michelle) of Simpsonville, S.C. and Charles Christopher Shorter of Camden. Her grandchildren, whom she adored, Mary Margaret Wadsworth Hale (Brandon), Samantha Shorter Vickrey (Colin), Margaret Ashley Shorter, Emily Wyatt Shorter, Katherine Gibbs Shorter, Jackson Sean Ours, Olivia Grace Shorter, Noelle Elizabeth Shorter, Calder Christopher Shorter, Davis Troy Shorter and Maggie-Alisabeth Gayle Shorter also survive Mrs. Shorter.

The family would like to express sincere thanks for the overwhelming support shown to Mrs. Shorter and the family over the past few years.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in memory of Mrs. Shorter to the Kirklin Clinic of UAB Hospital, 2000 6^th Ave. South, Birmingham, AL 35233; the Montgomery Cancer Center, 4145 Carmichael Rd., Montgomery, AL, 36106, or the Alabama Episcopal Cursillo, 16069 Carmel Bay, Northport, AL 35475.

Dunklin & Daniels Funeral Home is directing.