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As Larry Mase recalled memories of his mother, an art and antiques collector and dealer, he looked around at some of the objects she amassed throughout her life: a vase, some pieces of art glass.
Those works of art are irreplaceable, he said. And so was the woman who collected them.
Shirley Y. Mase, 82, of Derry died Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017.
She was born March 3, 1934, in Latrobe to Anthony and Angeline Gozdick Stackowitz.
Ms. Mase owned and operated her business, Mase Antiques, for more than 50 years. She was an expert in high-end art glass and Depression glass, decorative home glassware that was manufactured during the Great Depression.
“She had a hawk eye,” her son said. “She was an expert.”
He recalled long road trips with his mother in which they crisscrossed Pennsylvania and traveled to West Virginia in pursuit of, or to sell, precious antiques.
She worked him “like a mule,” Mase said, but the trips were fun, and he has fond memories of the places they went and people they met.
His mother was “sharp as a pencil” and taught Mase, now an attorney living in Ohio, to appreciate the beauty and history of the objects they bought and sold, he said.
“She was probably one of the smartest antique dealers I've ever seen in my life,” Mase said.
Ms. Mase was dedicated to her work, said Robert Spaniel, her longtime companion.
“That was her life,” Spaniel said, recalling the range of antiques Ms. Mase collected, which in addition to art glass included jewelry and small furniture items.
The two knew each other for about 50 years and were together for more than half that time, Spaniel said.
Ms. Mase, who was well known in the flea market circuit, donated art glass pieces to the Presznick glass museum in Ohio, which specialized in preserving art glass manufactured throughout Indiana, Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia.
She was preceded in death by a grandson, Dominick Peter Mase.
In addition to her son, Larry Mase, and companion, Robert Spaniel, Ms. Mase is survived by two grandchildren, Sarah Marie and Anthony Louis Mase.
Friends will be received from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday at McCabe Funeral Home, 300 W. Third Ave., Derry, with a service starting at 4 p.m.
Jamie Martines is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 724-850-2867 or jmartines@tribweb.com.
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