Shirley Leslie was born on 13 March 1934 in Essex, youngest of the three daughters of Ethel (nee Pullen) and Edgar Benstead.
Her father was stationed in Swanage, Dorset during WWII, working on the development of radar, while she attended primary school then Swanage Grammar School.
After the war, the family returned to New Maldon and Shirley attended Nonesuch Grammar School then studied photography at Regent Street Polytechnic (now the University of Westminster) - the first Polytechnic in UK (founded 1838) and which offered the first public photographic portrait studio in Europe (1841). She worked at seaside holiday camps and, on graduation, as an industrial photographer for BP.
Shirley met Ken Leslie of Southampton, a WWII veteran and Queen's College, Oxford History graduate at the Wimbledon Young Conservatives. They married in 1956, having bought a house in the village of Tatsfield, Kent. Caroline was born in July 1958 and Sarah in April 1961. Six weeks later Ken took up a new role in Kuala Lumpur, Malaya (as it was then) and Shirley followed with their girls six months later.
Until their retirement to Winchester in 1986, they lived in KL, Penang, KL again, Singapore and, from 1969, Hong Kong. There Shirley forged a highly successful career as a rental agent, using the skills she'd honed as a 'company wife' to find homes, schools and help settle expatriate families arriving in the then British Crown Colony.
During the late 1980s, Shirley spent considerable time caring for her own aged parents and Ken's mother. Volunteering at Brendon Care turned into her third career: managing liaison across the chain of homes and helping set up new ones, culminating in acting as CEO.
She led a full and active life in retirement - travelling widely with Ken and their friends, visiting their daughters and grandchildren in HK and Australia for as long as Ken could manage the long journey.
A lifelong bridge player, she was a member of several 'fours' in the Winchester area. Like her father before her, Shirley was a passionate gardener in the 'English Cottage Jungle' style - a passion passed on to her daughters.
She was also extremely active in the Wives Fellowship, served on the Peninsula Barracks Residents' Committee, co-ordinated Neighbourhood Watch, volunteered at the Winchester Hospital Breast Clinic weekly for many years (in memory of her eldest sister Jean), attended and actively supported the church of St Cross and Winchester Cathedral. She also worked tirelessly for and supported a wide range of causes and charities in the Winchester area.
Fortunately, Shirley's cruel illness was of relatively short duration. In her precious last days she expertly prepared her family and friends for her death with her typical combination of humour, warmth and generosity - achieving her most important goal of assuring Ken's comfortable future in The Dower House, Headbourne Worthy. She said she saw her coming death as 'just another posting' but that this time she would be going ahead of Ken...
She died peacefully at home with her family close on 19 August 2018.