[2] A friend had suggested that she approach cartoon director Ed Levitt for a job at UPA, since he was looking for beginning animators and was also an alumna of Jepson Art Institute.

[2] Levitt hired Silvey when he joined UPA, where she first worked in layout, storyboard and character design.

[2] Her credits at UPA included Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol, 1001 Arabian Nights and The Gerald McBoing-Boing Show.

[2] She worked with Jay Ward on numerous animated cartoons, including The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, George of the Jungle, Fractured Fairy Tales, Dudley Do-Right and the Cap'n Crunch television commercials.

[2] She also briefly worked on Bugs Bunny cartoons at Warner Bros.[2] Shirley Silvey died of heart failure on July 17, 2010, in Fresno, California, at the age of 82.