John Shirley; directed newspaper program
John J. "Jack" Shirley, 79, of Lansdale, retired director of the Employee Assistance Program at the Inquirer and Daily News, died Saturday, July 16, of Parkinson's disease at St. Mary's Manor, Lansdale.
John J. "Jack" Shirley, 79, of Lansdale, retired director of the Employee Assistance Program at the Inquirer and Daily News, died Saturday, July 16, of Parkinson's disease at St. Mary's Manor, Lansdale.
Mr. Shirley worked for Philadelphia Newspapers Inc. - predecessor of Philadelphia Media Network - from 1980 to 2000, when he retired for the first time.
He started out as a district manager in the circulation department, which is responsible for the distribution of newspapers. He quickly advanced to the position of zone manager.
However, Mr. Shirley felt drawn to working with people, not products. So he returned to school - he already had a bachelor's degree from St. Joseph's College - and in 1989 earned a master's degree in counseling psychology from Chestnut Hill College.
As director of the Employee Assistance Program, he was the liaison between employees and their employer.
"He saved many jobs for employees who sought confidential assistance with their personal problems," said former colleague Joseph Curran.
Mr. Shirley pressured the company to install defibrillators and train workers to use them. In 2000, two weeks after the devices were placed and training complete, Chuck Newman, a sports editor, collapsed from a heart attack in the Inquirer newsroom. Employees thought he was dead.
Two editors grabbed the device and restarted Newman's heart. After hospital treatment, he went on to live for 11 more years.
The defibrillators were "one of Jack's accomplishments, and the one he was most proud of," Curran said.
In the early 2000's, Mr. Shirley again turned his attention to helping people. He founded the Employee Assistance Program at the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, and ran the program until he retired for the last time in 2005.
He was active in the Philadelphia Chapter of the Employee Assistance Professionals Association, which gave him its "EAP of the Year Award" in 2011.
"He was just amazing. No matter what time of night, the phone would ring and he would be out the door to help in a crisis. He was so good with the families," said his wife, Carol Baldino Shirley.
He enjoyed antique cars and teaching counseling as an adjunct professor in the evening program at Chestnut Hill College.
In addition to his wife of 19 years, he is survived by daughter Lisa Fuehrer; sons Richard and Brian; and five grandchildren. His first wife, Faye Grandall, from whom he was divorced, also survives.
Funeral services were Wednesday, July 20.
Donations may be made to the National Parkinson Foundation via www.parkinson.org/get-involved/ways-to-give.
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