Betty Shearman

Betty Lou Shearman of Cambridge died on December 19, 2019, at the Stella Maris nursing home in Timonium, Maryland, after a long battle with lymphoma and other illnesses. She was 85.

Born Betty Lou Whitley on July 8, 1934, in Ilasco, Missouri, Mrs. Shearman was the daughter of Charles E. Whitley and Cleo Boss Whitley. She was a 1951 graduate of Ilasco High School.

In 1954, she married James Andrew Shearman of Hannibal, Missouri, who died in 2007. The couple had three children, and moved to Cambridge in 1973 when Mr. Shearman was transferred by Western Publishing Co.

Mrs. Shearman was primarily a homemaker but was employed in a number of retail jobs when first married and after her children were grown. She enjoyed gardening and shopping and was nicknamed “Miss Fashion Bug” by some of her friends. In her later years she enjoyed meeting for coffee with friends at McDonald’s and Denny’s.

Surviving are two sons, J. Craig Shearman and his wife Constance L. Monitto, M.D., of Ellicott City, Maryland, and Todd Shearman and his wife Terry of Cambridge; a daughter, Julia M. Johnston and her husband Doug of Des Moines, Iowa; five grandchildren, James and Lauretta Shearman of New York City, and Erica, Ashley and Charles Shearman of Cambridge; a brother, Carl Whitley, of Saverton, Missouri, and several nieces and nephews.

The family will receive friends from noon until 2 p.m. on Saturday, December 21, 2019, at the Newcomb and Collins Funeral Home in Cambridge. Services will be held at 2 p.m. at the funeral home and burial will follow at White Marsh Cemetery in Trappe.

Pallbearers will be J. Craig Shearman, Todd Shearman, James Shearman, Charles Shearman and Larry Stevens.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Delmarva Community Services or Coastal Hospice.