Rashelle "Shellie" Ann Morcom

Shellie Ann Hall Morcom passed over peacefully on Friday, February 17th, 2023 at Artesian Gardens group home after a 15 year struggle with Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) a form of dementia. Shellie was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on March 23rd, 1951 to Geraldine “Jerry” (Dwyer) and Allen Hall. She had one brother, Scott (Robert) Hall. Growing up she loved spending time at her family cabin in Red River, New Mexico where countless hours were spent outside fishing, reading and singing along to her collection of 45’s, always with a homemade microphone in hand. Early in life Shellie was interested in science and persuaded her parents to let her keep her own rats as part of a science project , with dreams of going to Jackson Laboratories in Maine. After graduating from Del Norte High School in Allbuquerque in 1969 she went on to attend the University of New Mexico where she met her future husband, Mike, in a Music History class; tale has it he stood out with his old, white, marching band shoes much to Shellie’s chagrin, but that didn’t stop them from quickly falling in love. The two were married less than a year later in 1971, starting their 51 years of marriage.

After getting married the two moved to Reno, Nevada where Shellie worked at St. Mary’s Hospital supporting Mike while he finished his degree. In 1978 Shellie then graduated from the University of Nevada College of Nursing, starting a long career as a dedicated nurse and Nurse Practitioner. She spent 10 years at the Washoe County Health Department supporting women of all backgrounds and realizing her passion for educating young women about their healthcare options and supporting them through their major life decisions.

Shellie and Mike built a wonderful life in Reno, creating life long friendships and enjoying many years of young married life before having their only daughter, Laura, in 1984.

Shellie’s dedication and drive soon resulted in her taking a position as a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner at the University of Maine, Orono. She took great pride in providing direct care and prioritized spending as much time as was needed with the young women who walked through her doors. Through her 21 year career at the University, Shellie was seen as a mentor and role model to countless peers and students alike; she was an advisor to the UMO LGBTQ organization on campus, worked with several sororities to ensure the women knew how to protect themselves, and actively fought for equal pay for the women on campus. Throughout her life she was a strong supporter of women’s rights, attending several Women’s marches in Washington, DC, including one with her daughter.

Shellie was known to have a wonderful smile, sharp mind, quick wit, and was a woman with many interests and talents. She was an avid crafter and loved knitting, crocheting, needlework, quilting, rug hooking, and even hunting through the Maine woods to gather ingredients for natural dyes for her yarn. Summers were often spent in Vermont with Mike, Laura and Amy (Laura’s best friend) where she and the girls would take classes at Fletcher Farm Craft School or could be found racing down the Alpine Slides at Bromley Mountain where it was discovered that she had a need for speed! She took over her father’s stamp collection and organized and led an Orono Youth Stamp Club for several years. Friends and family alike knew to save their used envelopes so that Shellie could pull out the stamps of interest to add to her collection. Over the years Shellie was also an active volunteer, spending many years as a weekend manager at the Ronald McDonald House of Bangor and then with Hospice of Eastern Maine after the death of her father.

In the evenings she would find solitude in her nightly bath and was an avid reader, mostly nonfiction and historical fiction.

Later in life she became interested in animal husbandry, which led to her volunteering at Kelmscott Farms with endangered breeds of farm animals. Some of her proudest moments were when she was asked to spend the night in the shepherds cottage, waking to check on the birthing status of lambs and piglets. On one occasion, a lamb was exhibiting failure to thrive, and the ewe left it alone; Shellie proceeded to bottle feed the lamb on her lap until she exclaimed, heartbroken, “Mike, I can’t save it, she’s dead.” Through her years at Kelmscott she gathered many skills that she hoped to put into use on her own small sheep farm someday; her persuasive skills at work again, she got buy in from Mike, but only because he realized this would mean he could buy a tractor!

Then slowly, in 2008 dementia set in, and the life she and Mike had dreamed of crumbled around them. Shellie continued to do her crafts for as long as she could manage, and her love of music remained a constant comfort. FTD soon took her voice away from us, but her love of life never faded and her beautiful eyes lit up whenever Mike or Laura entered a room.

We would like give special thanks to the caregivers at Artesian Gardens who provided Shellie with constant and loving care for the last three years.

Shellie was predeceased by her parents, Jerry and Allen Hall, and her older brother Scott Hall. Shellie is survived by her loving husband Mike Morcom of Reno; and their daughter Laura Morcom, her wife Chelsea Rourke and kids Brynne, Shae, and Heath of South Portland, ME; by sisters-in-law Marcia Morcom, Mary Timko (Dave), and Luana Morcom-Shine (Rick) of Nevada, as well as Sue Hall of California; and by her niece and nephew Trina and Preston Hall and nephews Nick and Daniel Timko.

The family has held a small celebration of life but encourages friends to share their favorite memories to keep Shellie’s spirit alive. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Shellie’s name to the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration:

AFTD

2700 Horizon Drive, Suite 120

King of Prussia, PA 19406

www.theaftd.org