Shirley Anne (Larkin) Tassencourt

 

We deeply mourn the loss of Shirley Anne Larkin Tassencourt, who passed away on March 4, 2021, at

6:53am, at Talbot Hospice in Easton, Maryland. She was born Shirley Anne Larkin, on December 5, 1926

in Chungking, China to parents, George R. and Anne S. Larkin, who were ‘academic missionaries’

teaching at West China Union University. In 1927, her family returned to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania where her father, George R. Larkin, joined the Economics Department at Gettysburg College, as a Professor.

 

After growing up in Gettysburg, Shirley attended the University of Pennsylvania, Academy of Fine Arts in

Philadelphia, earning a BFA. There she met her future husband, Jessie Maurice Tassencourt, and after

the birth of their daughters, Zoe and Andrea, they moved to Media, west of Philadelphia. There she

discovered a small, progressive school, called The School in Rose Valley, where she became the Art

Teacher, making it possible for her daughters to attend this unique and wonderful school. It was a

transformative experience for both Shirley, and her daughters, in the best possible way. She continued

her career as an art teacher, after discovering the educational & spiritual philosophies of Rudolf Steiner, and spent a year in England studying and earning her ‘Waldorf’ teaching certification. When she returned from England, she was hired to teach Art/Ceramics at Kimberton Farm School, a Waldorf (Steiner) school in Phoenixville, PA, and then later taught at the Waldorf school outside of Sacramento, California.

 

Shirley walked through this world sowing enthusiasm, joy, inspiration, and inner peace. She was an

accomplished artist, but most of all she was an artist of life. She was interested in, and appreciative of,

each person she met along the way. She inspired their best qualities. A true nature lover, she brought her passion for animals and the wild, natural world to her classroom, once bringing a boa-constrictor into class so her students could see, and draw, its’ beauty up close. Everyone loved art class with Shirley.

She continued to lead art workshops well into her eighties.

 

In the early sixties, Shirley attended a weekend retreat to learn about Zen Buddhism. It changed her life. 

When she meditated, she went all in, with full attention. Shirley’s Zen experience inspired her to sit for

initiation with the Spiritual Teacher, Kirpal Singh. After a divorce, Shirley decided to use the funds she

had from the sale of the family house to build a house on Martha’s Vineyard Island, where the family

owned a plot of land. She helped design a unique three-story house and chose an exterior of cedar

shingles, all of which she applied herself. She became a loved and respected member of the vibrant art

community on the island.

 

As she moved closer to ‘retirement’, she relocated to the beautiful, high desert community of Dragoon,

Arizona. It was an ambitious new period in her life, where she and her grandson, Dominic Howes, built

her a pair of dome-shaped dwellings made entirely of earth. As she often said, the land was ‘sculptor’s

heaven’, where boulders seem to have been thrown around by the gods to create awe-inspiring

formations.  Deeply inspired by this place, Shirley and two neighbors created a land trust, to protect 15

acres of towering rock formations that appeared to form a Native American Medicine Wheel. While living in the desert, a bird befriended her and would come and sit at the edge of her plate at her outdoor table enjoying breakfast with her each morning. That’s just who Shirley was. She loved all creatures, and they loved her back.

 

After experiencing a broken hip, Shirley came to live with her younger daughter, Zoe, in Sebastopol,

where she enjoyed a large extended family, the local Satsang community, as well as many days spent

sitting by the ocean. She spent her last six months living with her older daughter, Andrea, in Cordova,

Maryland. She is survived by her daughters, Andrea Tassencourt and Zoe Tassencourt, her niece

Marianne Larkin, as well as her grandchildren; Dominic Howes, Daniel Howes, Jessie Ann Howes, and

Dustin Skylar Tassencourt Wright; and four great-grandchildren.

 

"In lieu of flowers, those who would like can donate to one of the following non-profit organizations, in Shirley Tassencourt's name:  Talbot Hospice; or, The School in Rose Valley; or, American Wild Horse Campaign. Thank you."

 

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