Shirley Mary Maude

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Biography

This biography was auto-generated by a GEDCOM import.^[1] It's a rough draft and needs to be edited.

Birth

Birth:

Date: 14 Apr 1929

Place: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia^[2][3]

Death

Death:

Date: 12 Jul 2011

Place: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia^[4][5]

User ID

User ID: 67C153DF0DC1344C81C35FD6B32AA383240F

Data Changed

Data Changed:

Date: 26 Dec 2011

Time: 13:16:34

Prior to import, this record was last changed 13:16:34 26 Dec 2011.

Object

Object:

Format: jpg

File: ..\Pictures\Maude Pictures\Maude, Shirley.jpg

Title:

Note:

Scrapbook: Y

Primary or Preferred: Y

Type: PHOTO

Slideshow: Y

Sources

1. ↑ Maude-151 was created by Leslie Derek Maude through the import of Maude, Joseph Family.ged on Jun 23, 2014. This comment and citation can be deleted after the biography has been edited and primary sources are included.
2. ↑ Source: #S2477 Page: Crossword Who's Who, http://bestforpuzzles.com/people/o.html Data: Text: Shirl O'BRIEN CONT CONT Shirl O'Brien was born 14 April 1929 in Sydney and died 12 July 2011 in Brisbane. CONT CONT She set crosswords in The Courier-Mail, in Queensland, Australia, from 1985 to 2008, using the pseudonym Southern Cross. She produced 1223 puzzles in that time, completing her last in 2008 at the age of 79. CONT CONT As Auster, she also contributed a few puzzles each year for The Guardian. CONT CONT Obituary for Shirley O'Brien in The Courier-Mail
3. ↑ Source: #S2478 Page: http://www.couriermail.com.au/ipad/obituary-shirley-obrien/story-fn6ck8la-1226108250040 Data: Date: 5 Aug 2011
4. ↑ Source: #S2477 Page: Crossword Who's Who, http://bestforpuzzles.com/people/o.html
5. ↑ Source: #S2478

• Source: S2477 Repository: #REPO139 Title: Best For Puzzles
• Repository: REPO139 Name: bestforpuzzles.com
• Source: S2478 Title: Obituary: O'Brien, Shirley Publication: The Courier-Mail Text: CRYPTIC crossword compiler Shirley 'Shirl' O'Brien was born on April 14, 1929, in Sydney and died July 12, 2011, in Brisbane. CONT CONT CONT CONT FOR a quarter of a century, Brisbane's Shirl O'Brien challenged readers of The Courier-Mail with her cryptic crossword puzzles. As "Southern Cross", she compiled no fewer than 1223 puzzles, completing her last in 2008 at the age of 79. CONT CONT It is a wonderful thing when someone can find something new at the age of 50 which brings them as much fulfilment and happiness as cryptic crosswords brought Mrs O'Brien. CONT CONT She taught herself how to do the Guardian and Times crosswords and quickly became frustrated at the volume of what she thought of as obscure British content. CONT CONT Her response? Well, she was a woman of action and words so in 1985 she turned to compiling, making a pilot set of her own puzzles with some Australian content. CONT CONT The Courier-Mail agreed to trial them for a few weeks to gauge interest. They were a hit. CONT CONT Mrs O'Brien's final head scratcher included message words to her faithful puzzle fans, including: "Constellation setting for the last time." You guessed it, the answer was "Southern Cross". The answer to another clue was "adieu". CONT CONT A prolific compiler, Mrs O'Brien was also known to readers of cryptic crosswords in Britain's Guardian newspaper as "Auster", the brains behind many a mind-bending puzzle from 1987 until this year. CONT CONT She was the first Australian cryptic compiler to be published in that newspaper and the Australian Crossword Club named her its Compiler of the Year in 2008. CONT CONT One of the things Mrs O'Brien loved most about the job was the feedback she received from solvers. CONT CONT She did several specially themed puzzles during her long career, including crosswords for weddings, special birthdays, her own golden wedding anniversary and, most recently, a Guardian puzzle in honour of her respiratory specialist Dr Simon Bowler, to whom she was very grateful. CONT CONT Born Shirley Mary Maude in Sydney, she was the first of Major and Philomena Maude's six children. She lived for a short time in Newcastle and Melbourne before the family moved to Brisbane when she was seven. CONT CONT After primary schooling at St Joan of Arc's in Herston she went to St Rita's College, Clayfield, where she was junior dux. The school's motto, "action, not words" meant much to a woman of both words and action. She went on to Brisbane State High School on a scholarship and in 1948 graduated from Kelvin Grove Teachers College, now QUT. CONT CONT A year earlier, on Labour Day, the students took part in a tree planting at Beerwah. At Brunswick St station the train suddenly lurched and she literally fell into the arms of a young man called Jack O'Brien. CONT CONT He later called on her to check she was OK, the first step towards a lifetime together. CONT CONT They were married at St Joan of Arc's in 1950, honeymooning in Yeppoon before moving to Gladstone. CONT CONT Mrs O'Brien was a great teacher and had a busy time in Gladstone - six of her seven children were born there in a period of eight years. She also loved music passionately and sang in the local choral society. CONT CONT In 1971, when Jack became a deputy headmaster, the family moved to Rockhampton, and later Mt Morgan, Townsville and Brisbane. CONT CONT A woman with a deep commitment to Christian principles, she was an active member of the Queen of Apostles Parish and meditated daily on the articles in Living Faith. CONT CONT Over the years she did voluntary work for the St Vincent de Paul Society, cleaned the church, tutored adult literacy and for many years read to residents of her local TriCare centre. She was also an inaugural member of the Chermside Probus Club. CONT CONT Frequent family gatherings, including some with her siblings and their spouses which they called generation dinners, were another joy. CONT CONT Mrs O'Brien did not take kindly to her health limiting her activities but, whenever she felt able, kept baking for visiting family or friends. CONT CONT Despite her poor health in later years she had no regrets, often saying she felt very blessed with her life and would not have wished to have done anything differently. CONT CONT She died peacefully at home and 400 people attended her funeral, a fine testament to the lives she had touched. CONT CONT Mrs O'Brien is survived by her husband of 61 years, Jack, children John, Bern, Therese, Jennie, Trish, Michael and Liz, nine of her 10 grandchildren and her sisters Desolie and Maureen.