Pauline Shyab English

Pauline Shyab English 92 passed away at a local nursing home on June 25, 2012.

Pauline was a consummate New Yorker, born, raised, and educated in Brooklyn, N.Y., one of the five Boroughs of New York City. The other four are Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, and Staten Island.

Pauline was in a group selected to serve as Miss Subways of New York City. The winning candidate had to be a resident of New York City, work in New York City, and commute by Subway to work. The winner had her picture posted with a short bio in each of the few thousand subway cars. Pauline made the short list, but never made the cut. Competition was keen with eight million residents in the city.

Pauline lived in Brooklyn on Eleventh Avenue at the corner of Eighty First Street. The stretch of Eleventh Avenue between Eightieth and Eighty Sixth was named The Avenue of the Mansions by the New York Times.

Pauline was the valedictorian of her graduating class from Girls Commercial, one of New York's most prestigious high schools. She completed her secretarial training at the Katherine Gibbs School in Manhattan. She worked as a secretary for a number of firms on Wall Street, Maiden Lane, and Broadway in Manhattan. While living on Staten Island she was secretary to the President of a Fortune Five Hundred Company in Manhattan when she became pregnant. She then resigned from that position and devoted 100% of her time to her family.

Pauline met her husband, Ed English at an office on Wall Street, where they both worked. Their first date was a ballgame at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. They were featured on Fox Movietone News attending a Men's final at Forest Hills in Queens. They married at St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. She gave birth to her first child at French Hospital, Manhattan.

Pauline moved to Lake Charles when her husband's work was transferred to Lake Charles. She loved living in Lake Charles, becoming an avid hacker golfer at the Lake Charles Country Club. Unfortunately dementia set in a few years ago; it grew steadily worse culminating in her death.

She is survived by Edward English her husband of 62 years; daughter, Elizabeth English; two grandchildren, Bryce 10 and Sara 8, all of San Diego, CA; a sister, Hortense Vantresca of Jupiter FL; a nephew, Guy Vantresca of New York City; and two nieces, Mrs. George (Suzanne) Aiosa and Mrs.Gary (Patricia) Lucas of Long Island. She was preceded in death by her son, Christopher in the year 2000.

Donations may be made to The Alzheimer's Association at:

https://act.alz.org/site/Donation2?11461.donation=form1df id=11461pw id=1821

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Church at 10:00 AM on Monday, July 2, 2012.