Shirley Ruth Foote scrapbook

Shirley Ruth Foote was born on December 27, 1920 to Dr. and Mrs. Merrill Newton Foote. She grew up in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York and the family lived at 230 Clinton Avenue and, later, 405 Clinton Avenue. The family also had a summer house on the South Shore of Long Island at Bellport, New York.

Foote attended Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn, New York, Westover School in Middlebury, Connecticut, and Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. She had an active social life and her pursuits included competing in local horse shows and serving on related committees. She made her social debut at a skating and supper party given by her parents at Rockefeller Plaza on December 27, 1938. Foote married Robert William Small (1916-1944) on June 28, 1941 and her two sisters, Jane M. Foote and Carol Patricia Foote, served as bridal attendants.

Shirley Small was widowed in 1944 when her first husband, Robert William Small, died in an accident on an army base in Richmond, Virginia. She and her daughter lived in Bermuda for the remainder of the war. In 1949, she married Jerald Helmer Melum (1919-2016) and lived in Great Neck, New York, Plandome, New York, and Upper Brookville, New York, before retiring to Sanibel Island, Florida.

According to the donor, Shirley Melum was a die-hard anti-feminist, an ardent environmentalist opposed to Robert Moses' bridge across Long Island Sound proposal, a golfer, needlepointer, event planner, and supportive wife. She also served as a board member of Westover School, president of the North Shore Junior Service League, and as a volunteer for Planting Fields Arboretum.

Foote died on November 28, 1998 in Sanibel Island, Florida and was survived by her three daughters and husband.

Shirley Ruth Foote was born on December 27, 1920 to Dr. and Mrs. Merrill Newton Foote. Foote had two sisters: Jane M. Foote and Carol Patricia Foote. She grew up in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York and the family lived at 230 Clinton Avenue and, later, 405 Clinton Avenue. The family also had a summer house on the South Shore of Long Island at Bellport, New York.

Foote attended Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn, New York, Westover School in Middlebury, Connecticut, and Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. She had an active social life and her athletic pursuits included competing in local horse shows and yachting races. She made her social debut at a skating and supper party given by her parents at Rockefeller Plaza on December 27, 1938. Foote married Robert William Small (1916-1944) on June 28, 1941.

Shirley Foote Small was widowed in 1944 when her first husband, Robert William Small, died in an accident on an army base in Richmond, Virginia. She and her daughter lived in Bermuda for the remainder of the war. In 1949, she married Jerald Helmer Melum (1919-2016) and lived in Great Neck, New York, Plandome, New York, and Upper Brookville, New York, before retiring to Sanibel Island, Florida.

According to her youngest daughter, who is the donor of the collection, Shirley Foote Melum was "a die-hard anti-feminist who would bristle if someone addressed a letter to her using "Shirley Melum" instead of "Mrs. Jerald H. Melum," "an ardent environmentalist" opposed to Robert Moses' bridge across Long Island Sound proposal, a golfer, needlepointer, "brilliant event planner," and supportive wife. She also served as a board member of Westover School, president of the North Shore Junior Service League, and as a volunteer for Planting Fields Arboretum in Upper Brookville, New York.

Foote died on November 28, 1998 in Sanibel Island, Florida and was survived by her three daughters and husband.