Mannara, Shirley A. (Natalie) GREECE. Born October 13, 1927 and passed peacefully on December 31, 2021 at age 94. Predeceased by her loving husband, Joseph P. Mannara, parents Victor and Jennie Natalie, and brother Victor E. (Lois) Natalie. Survived by her son, Rev. Kevin Mannara, CSB; daughter Karin (Greg) Williams; grandsons Micheal Mercendetti and Joshua Christanis; step-granddaughter Sahara Williams and her son Travis; sister-in-law Louise (Robert) Azzano, many nieces and nephews including Bruce (Susan) Natalie, cousins, and countless friends. Shirley served at Mt. Carmel Home for many years, and as a Eucharistic Minister at Most Precious Blood Church and Sacred Heart Cathedral. She had boundless energy and generously helped many people. Shirley's visitation will be Friday, January 7, from 2- 4 and 6-8 PM, at the Funeral Home, 1411 Vintage Lane. Her Funeral Mass will be celebrated Saturday at 10 AM at Sacred Heart Cathedral, 296 Flower City Park. She will be laid to rest in her family's plot at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to The Mannara Scholarship Fund, PO Box 2008, Niagara University, NY 14109-2008. Youtube link for her Funeral Mass: https://youtu.be/z8cmIIaPOWs Shirley was born on October 13, 1927, to Victor A. and Jennie L. (Toal) Natalie, and had an older brother Victor E. Natalie. She was baptized in Holy Rosary Church and attended the parish school. Later she attended Nazareth Academy. On April 7, 1951, she married Joseph Mannara in Holy Apostles Church. They spent some of their early years of marriage in Norfolk, VA, while Joe was in the Navy. They later bought a house at 55 Rockview Terrace, where they lived for 45 years. Shirley and Joe were part of a tight-knit neighborhood on Rockview, forging friendships that lasted a lifetime. Joe adored Shirley and was a good, caring, loving husband for 57 years. Greatly desiring to have a family, they sought the intercession of St. Ann, the mother of Mary and grandmother of Jesus. They credited her with inspiring them to form a family through adoption. They became the proud and loving parents of Kevin Joseph and Karin Louise. Joe and Shirley valued Catholic education and offered them opportunities to thrive through it. After school, she would help them with their homework, while also making sure they had a snack and some time to rest. They never missed any of their children's events. She attended their games and encouraged them in the arts: Kevin in music and Karin in dance. Shirley was a scout leader for both of her children. Family life was centered around their parish, Most Precious Blood, where they worshiped and where their children attended the parish school. She was a member of the church's Sacred Heart League and served the parish however she was asked, including at Bingo, festivals, chicken dinners...however she was needed. In 1985 she became a Eucharistic Minister, serving at Mass and bringing communion to those at home. Sunday was always a special day starting with Mass, followed by family dinner, and then visiting with relatives. Family together time was a priority. They were a family of five: her mother lived with them until her passing in 1986. Family life always included pets: Skippy, Princess, Angel, Midnight, Whiskers, and Nikko. She was also known to share treats with the neighbor's pets too! Her life lit up with joy when she became a grandmother, first to Micheal on April 7, 1988, and then to Joshua on March 2, 1995. Shirley and Joe adored their grandsons, who could do no wrong. They took them everywhere they went and never missed an opportunity to spend time with them, whether just being together at home, special trips to McDonald's, soccer, and hockey games...grandma and grandpa were always there. Saturday night card club with Rockview Terrace friends and family continued long after they moved away from there to Greece in 2001. Shirley and Joe enjoyed traveling. They visited St. Anne de Beaupre in Quebec when praying for a family, and then in1976 returned there as a family to offer thanks. There were regular family trips to visit friends in Connecticut, and to Canada, the Adirondacks, and Florida. They vacationed in Hawaii for their Silver Wedding Anniversary, and then again years later with friends. They took several cruises and visited Myrtle Beach and Florida, and visited Las Vegas many times. To celebrate their Golden Wedding Anniversary, they took their family on a Caribbean cruise. When Kevin lived in California she made several trips there, sometimes with Joe but always with her grandson Micheal. She took her grandson Joshua to Washington DC. She and Kevin also took trips to Italy, the Holy Land, and China. She even climbed the Great Wall! One Mother's Day weekend they went to NYC and saw a Broadway show. In 2016 they returned to the Shrine of St. Anne de Beaupre in Quebec, and in 2019 took a Mediterranean cruise, only two months after breaking her hip! In later years she often traveled to FL with her daughter and son-in-law. Shirley enjoyed being a stay-at-home mom while her children were growing up. She worked for Bausch & Lomb until Kevin's birth, and then after he and Karin were older she worked for ARA Food Services at Rochester Products. She served for 17 years at Mount Carmel House and found great satisfaction in providing hospice care. She concluded her service there to care for Joe during his long illness before he passed in 2008. Shirley never slowed down. For many years she shuttled friends and relatives to their doctor appointments, church, shopping, the hairdresser, or any place they needed a ride. She joked that she was Mannara Medical Motor Service. Friends called her the Energizer bunny. As recently as October she was still driving and very independent. She especially liked having lunch at her daughter and son-in-law's restaurant, Karin's Lakeside Haven. She took great pride in her children: Kevin for being a priest and Karin for being a restauranteur She adored her grandsons. Her greatest joy was simply being together as a family. Shirley was on her way to being 100, determined to beat her grandfather who lived to be 99. She was infected with COVID-19 a year ago. Although she recovered, it led to other health problems and weakened her. After a good spring and summer, she began encountering health issues in her last two months and fought them courageously. She was healthy enough at Thanksgiving to host a visit from FL of her longtime friends, Marie and Paula D'Ambra. After that, her health challenges escalated. There was a stream of visitors in her final days, and she was surrounded by family. On her final day, her son celebrated Mass for her and Karin. That night Kevin prayed with her and they listened to music. She passed peacefully just after midnight. "Silent night. Holy night. All is calm, all is bright... Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace."