Shirley Elaine Shull

Shirley was born on March 1, 1927 in Estacada, Oregon to Claude and Laura (Douglass) Marrs. She met her husband Jackson Palmer Shull “Jack” while working in the shipyards and they married on July 3, 1943. She would say that Jack won her heart with his singing and playing his guitar. In 1944 they moved to Sweethome, Oregon with their daughter Connie. Their first home was in a logging camp from which Jack worked. Later, they moved down to the Calapooia Road home where they lived for many years. While in Sweethome they made many lifelong friends that were like family. Their two other children Mike and Kathy were both born while living in Sweethome. In 1961 they moved to Lyons, Oregon when Jack’s employers moved there. They lived in Lyons for the rest of their lives together. While in Lyons, Shirley worked as a substitute in the kitchen at Mari Linn School. She volunteered for the March of Dimes where she worked on the annual fundraisers. She was active in the PTA, a Girl Scout leader and 4-H leader while Kathy was in grade school. When Jack became disabled and couldn’t work any longer, Shirley started a second hand shop in the garage. This brought all types of people in that Jack enjoyed visiting with and liked the laughter that came with the visits. Shirley and Jack loved spending time with their kids, grandkids, great grandkids and many friends they had met over the years in Sweethome and Lyons. After Shirley had taken care of Jack, while in the last years of his life, she became active in the Salem and Keizer senior centers and the Santiam Valley Grange, where she was asked to provide speakers for monthly meetings. When she moved to the Slopper Residence in Sublimity in the last years of her life, she became the “official greeter” of the new members moving in. She enjoyed learning where they were from and who they knew. Shirley also dabbled in real estate. Going out and looking at properties was a long time hobby of hers. Additionally, she enjoyed spending time at the beach cabin near Pacific City which brought her joy for many years before she sold it to a family friend. At the Lyons house she enjoyed spent time watching the chickadees and chirping along with them. In the last few years she really enjoyed sharing stories of the times she worked in the shipyards, where she did somethings that she thought were high on the naughty list or naïve scale, but were nothing more than normal young person things of the time. Shirley lived for garage sales, to the point of flipping a U-turn on Mother’s Day one year causing her to get in a fender bender. She said, “Well there may have been something I couldn’t have lived without there.” Shirley passed away on April 11, 2019 in Salem, Oregon at age 92. She was preceded in death by her husband Jack, her parents Laura and Claude and her brothers, Roy and Lloyd Marrs. She is survived by her children, Connie (Vic) LaRoche, Mike (Mary Jo) Shull, Kathy Ellis; grandchildren, Julie, John, Jennifer, Keri, Nick and Codi; and 8 grandchildren. In lieu of flowers the family suggests contributions be made to Fairview Cemetery.A Private graveside service is arranged. The family will be having a memorial celebration at a later time.