Once Shirley’s youngest child entered the 8th grade, her involvement in the community grew from serving on the City’s Recreation Committee to deciding to run for City Council in 1980. She was one of three elected that year (out of five running) to the council with her husband, Paul, running her campaign. When the position of mayor opened up, she was encouraged to run and served as Mayor of Centerville from 1984 to 1996. Working closely with the council, those were exciting years for the city as many of the places we associate with Centerville today were dedicated or developed – including Stubbs Park, Benham’s Grove, and Yankee Trace. The gazebo bus stops and improvements to the Uptown area remain a lasting legacy of Shirley’s vision for improving the quality of life in the city that she loved.

After sixteen years of service, Shirley announced her retirement saying, “It’s probably an appropriate time for someone else to have the opportunity.” She and Paul played golf and traveled both for pleasure and to visit their 8 grandchildren, all the while staying involved in the community. Shirley Heintz passed away at the age of 82 in 2013 and rests in the Centerville Cemetery. She is certainly remembered as one of many incredible local ladies!