Longtime Virginia City resident Annabelle Shelly died early Sunday morning, November 7, 2010, at age 87.

Mrs. Shelly was a volunteer at St. Mary's Art Center for 42 years, and served as its executive director for 10 years. She had a long background in art, painting, stained glass and mixed media. Born in Lawrence, Okla., she moved to California and gave mixed media demonstrations at the College of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif., and belonged to a San Francisco women's artist group. Mrs. Shelly's paintings have been exhibited in more than 50 shows. She was a past editor and feature writer for a California publication called "Art West" and her career was well established when she started teaching art at the center in Virginia City. She was also a past editor of WestArt, an artistic publication, and belonged to Walnut Creek Civic Arts.

She moved to Virginia City with her husband, Bill, in 1964. Bill died in 2004. She received a Governor's Award for the arts, and once said she got so involved in running St. Mary's Art Center that she stopped painting. She did the etchings in stained glass that decorate Virgil Bucchianeri's home as well as the stained glass in the Lynch House in Gold Hill. In 2007 she was the grand marshal for the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Virginia City.

She once told this reporter that "Living in Virginia City has been the best time of my life. And my years at the art center were also the greatest thing in my life."

A celebration of Annabelle's life will be held on November 27, 2010 at 11 am at the Bucket of Blood Saloon on C Street in Virginia City.