Help Shirley Stratton After House Fire

On April 22nd, Shirley Stratton lost her home to an electrical fire while she was away at work. Those who have connections to the Bennington area may have seen this photo circulated by the Pownal Fire Department Facebook page or driven by the many emergency vehicles on Gypsy Lane and wondered what was going on.

Having grown up as close friends with Shirley's daughter, Molly, I spent a lot of time in that house and knew Shirley well. Shirley is one of the most hard working nurses I know and was always doing overtime. If you have previously been a patient at the Cancer Center, had a surgery with Charles Salem, or been a patient of Dr. Pezzulich, you have probably been taken care of by Shirley at some point. Or, if you knew Molly Stratton, Shirley may have chaperoned your field trip, driven you to a middle school dance, or been subjected to your pre-teen sleepovers, music choices, and bad jokes.

Unfortunately, the house has been deemed a total loss and Shirley has lost all of her belongings in the fire. Any donation you can make to show support for Shirley, helps her to cover some of the unexpected costs of having to replace everything you own and navigate the maze of finding new housing.