Endless Waves… Remembrances of Sayville Alumni. Shirlee & Bill.

Shirlee and Lillian in Los Angeles, 1939

Bill and Shirlee got engaged at Christmas in 1939.  They married on February 16, 1940, in Yuma, Arizona, where Bill’s military unit had been transferred.

Shirlee with Bill’s show dog, Chancellor, 1942

Shirlee and Bill on the beach in California, 1942

Bill in 1945 with his son Billy and his sister’s son, Jimmy.

In 1947, Lillian’s sisters, Bertha, Camilla, and Anna, took a train trip across the country to see national monuments, such as the Grand Canyon, and to visit Shirlee and Lillian. In this photo are Lillian and her husband Leonard, Shirlee and Bill, Bertha, Camilla, and Anna, Virginia, and Bill, Jr.

Bill, Shirlee, and their first-born son, Billy, in Spring 1947.

Shirlee with her newborn daughter, Tricia, in 1948. On the top row is her son, Billy. In the second row is Virginia, and the other children are Virginia’s playmates.

Bill and Shirlee and their first two children, Tricia and Billy, in 1951

Shirlee and Bill’s three children, Tricia, Billy, and their youngest, Barry, in 1953.

After the war, Bill and Shirlee bought a home in the Inglewood section of Los Angeles. They also had a home on the ocean at Newport Beach. Shirlee belonged to a tennis club, a dance group, and a variety of civic groups.

For many years, Shirlee worked part-time in a shop at Laguna Beach (south of Newport) called “Table Talk” that sold household items.

Shirlee and Bill in 1965.

Virginia, Lillian, Tricia, and Shirlee in Newport in December 1976.

Barry, Joanie, Billy, and Linda with Shirlee in 1977.

Over the years, Shirlee and Bill’s three children got married and together had five children. Billy and his wife Linda had one child, John; Tricia had one child, Nate; and Barry and his wife, Joanie had three — Sarah, Abigail, and Nathan. Four of the children are in the first photo taken in 1984 and all five in the second photo taken in 1986. In the final photo are John and Sarah in the back row; Nate in the middle; and Abigail and Nathan in the first row.

Joanie and Linda with Joanie’s first child, Sarah, in February 1978.

The Nugent Family in 1982.  From left to right are: Linda and Billy and their son, John; Tricia and her son, Nate; Shirlee, Sarah, Barry, Abigail, and Joanie.

Bill Nugent in his seventies. Photo taken about 1988.

In 1999, Ginny moved to Los Angeles to work at California State University, Northridge. This gathering of Linda, Shirlee, Joanie, John and Bill was to welcome her.

The Nugent’s at Abigail’s graduation from Biola University in 2002.  Left to right are Joanie, Sarah, Barry, Shirlee, Nathan and Abigail.

Bill began playing the saxophone at 11 years of age. He played in marching bands, orchestras, dance bands, and in any musical group he could throughout junior high, high school, and college. At 24 (1967), he began touring with the Grammy Award winning James Cotton Blues Band. In the 1970’s and 1980’s, he worked with multi-instrumentalist and composer, Frank Zappa, on video and albums, including the rock opera, Joe’s Garage. During these years, he also performed on many albums recorded by the Chambers Brothers, a soul rock group, headed by recording artist Lester Chambers. Several years ago, Bill performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., with the Chambers Brothers.   Bill has travelled and performed around the country. Currently, he plays with Del Guido, a jazz group, that performs regularly in El Segundo, California.

For several years, Barry Nugent was Captain of the Los Angeles Fire Department at Marina del Rey, California. In this photo, taken in 2002 during a visit to the station, are Barry, Joanie, Lillian, and Shirlee.

In Spring 2003, Barry was promoted to Battalion Chief in the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The family photos below were taken during that ceremony and celebration.

Lily and Shirlee at Newport Beach in 2005.

Shirlee and her son, Bill Nugent Jr. in El Segundo, California, 2008.

Bill Jr. died of cancer in October 2021 after a three-year bout with the disease. The photo is courtesy of Tricia (Nugent) Rentschler, the daughter of Shirlee and Bill Nugent.

Tricia and her husband, Fred, in North Pole, Alaska in 2009.

Tricia, well-known for her baking skills, displays one of her creations in 2010.

The Nugent’s are great fans of hot tubs. On the left, Bill and Tricia in a hot tub in Spencer Hot Springs, Nevada in September 2010.   On the right, Tricia and her son Nate in a hot tub in Paia, Maui in 2018 followed by a trip to the mountains in Paia.

Barry and Joanie with seven of their grandchildren in July 2019.  In November 2019, they were blessed with an eighth grandchild.​​​

Bill, Tricia, and Barry in January 2020.