November 23rd, 2022 by WCBC Radio
Shirley Giarritta, a founding member of the Cumberland Theatre, business owner and lover of the arts, passed away Tuesday night following a brief illness. A Chicago native, Shirley Walker, moved to Cumberland and in 1981 married Dr Nick Giarritta. For more than three decades she ran the interior design business “Connoisseur Interiors”. During that time she also served on the Maryland State Arts Council for three terms. In addition to being a founding member of the Cumberland Theatre, she was also active in One Tree Productions, the Rotary Club of Cumberland and the Allegany Arts Council. In 2020 she was honored as one of the Greater Cumberland Committee’s “Women of the Year” and in 2013 she and Nick were recipients of the Community Trust Foundation’s “Humanitarian Award”. Shirley was proceeded in death by her husband Nick who passed on Thanksgiving Day in 2013. Funeral arrangements for Shirley have not been announced.