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Earl Lee Shirkey
Class of 1946 Contributor Earl Shirkey was a fixture at the scorer’s table for HHS basketball games for 51 years. Earl has had a lifetime interest in HHS  athletics, beginning with his days at Waterman School. In high school he was unable to compete on athletic teams, so he served as
team manager.
In 1946, his senior year, Coach Warren asked him to operate the clock for a basketball game. From then through 1997 there were very few games where Earl was not at his seat at the scorer’s table. In the 1960’s Madison College (JMU) started its intercollegiate basketball program, playing their home games at HHS for several seasons. Earl became the Madison clock operator and continued in the job until his retirement in 2006. For his day job Earl enjoyed a 38 year career as a banker with 1st National Bank (now Bank of America) He is a long-time member of the Exchange Club and volunteer at Rockingham Memorial Hospital, where he has donated more than 10,000 hours of volunteer service, and is a regular attendant at the Shenandoah Valley Sports Club. Earl taught boys’ Sunday School classes at Asbury Methodist Church for 31 years. He is especially proud of the fact that 12 of his students became doctors and one became a Brigadier General in the U. S. Marines. |