Mary Louisa Shade

Mary Louisa Shade passed away peacefully on February 1, 2019. She was the wife of the late Professor Emeritus William G. Shade, Ph.D., who passed away on June 17, 2018, and the daughter of the late William Spaight Langford and Caryl (Skinner) Langford. Mary Lou was born on February 21, 1940 in New York City. She graduated from St. Agnes Prep School and later earned her B.A. from Wheaton College in Norton, MA. She could always be found at the Moravian Book Shop where she worked for 34 years. As a book buyer, she was a welcome smiling face and a well-read expert on many subjects and authors. She loved reading to children and finding the right book for them to take home. If customers had a question about any book Lou would always find the answer. She shared books with her friends and relatives and usually included personal messages written on post-it notes. Since 1969 Lou was an active member of the Central Moravian Church in Bethlehem, where she sang in the sanctuary and chapel choir. She had a deep love of music and the arts and was an engaged supporter of the Bach Choir, Friends of Music, Pennsylvania Youth Theater, Touchstone Theatre and The Metropolitan Opera. She was also active in politics, a member of the League of Women Voters and frequent volunteer on election day. She loved to travel with her husband and took many trips throughout the world with the Central Moravian travelers' group. Most importantly Mary Lou was a mother and grandmother who was a force of encouragement and unconditional love to her family.

SURVIVORS: She will be remembered with love by her daughter Alexandra Shade Newell and son-in-law Robert Newell of Saucon Valley, PA, her son Christopher Shade, Ph.D. and daughter-in-law Nadine Shade of Erie, Colorado, her grandsons Aidan Newell, Jackson Newell, Thomas Shade and Pierre Shade, and her sister Diana Langford of Templeton, MA.

SERVICES: A Memorial Service will be held at 10:00 AM on Saturday February 16, 2019, in the Old Chapel of Central Moravian Church, Heckewelder Place, Bethlehem, PA 18018. Interment is private. Arrangements are entrusted to Cantelmi Long Funeral Home, Bethlehem. A memory tribute may be placed at www.cantelmifuneralhome.com.

MEMORIALS: In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to The Friends of Music a non-profit organization that promotes music education and the scholarship of young musical artists.
The Friends of Music
c/o Moravian College Music Department
1200 Main Street
Bethlehem, PA 18018

To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.