Shirley Ann Jephson Williams, 87, passed away peacefully on March 25, 2026, in Lincoln City, Oregon, surrounded by the love of her family. Her rich life journey took her from the Idaho high desert across Texas, Nevada, Tennessee, and Colorado, leaving a legacy of profound resilience, maternal devotion, and deep love.

Shirley was born on May 24, 1938, in Idaho Falls, Idaho, to Victor Harold "Jim" Jephson and Rula June Clifford. Raised in the agricultural communities of Mud Lake and Monteview, Shirley grew up with a resilient spirit inherited from her hardworking parents and homesteading grandparents, Sam and Mae Jephson.

On January 26, 1956, Shirley married Jimmy Holder in Bonneville County. Together they welcomed three sons. Their oldest, Randy A. Holder, was born in Houston, Texas, on September 14, 1956. They returned to Idaho, welcoming DeLynn Holder on June 4, 1958, who sadly preceded his mother in death as a young child on December 2, 1960. On August 4, 1959, their son Michael Lynn Holder was born in Boise.

In 1961, Shirley began a new chapter when she married Bill E. Williams in Boise, Idaho. They shared a beautiful life together for over five decades until Bill's passing in 2015. On November 11, 1967, they blessed their family with a son, John Williams, born in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Family was the center of Shirley's universe. In her later years, she moved to Kingsport, Tennessee, to live with her son John. Following John’s heartbreaking passing in 2016, Shirley relocated to Walsenburg, Colorado, with her eldest son, Randy. She lived peacefully in Colorado for eight years until 2024, when she moved to the beautiful coast of Oregon to reside with her son Michael during her sunset years.

Shirley was a woman of exceptional strength who weathered deep personal losses with grace and faith. She was preceded in death by her parents, Victor and Rula Jephson; her husband, Bill E. Williams; her infant son, DeLynn Holder; her son, John Williams; and her brothers, Dennis Victor and James "Lynn" Jephson.

Her memory will be forever cherished by her surviving sons, Randy A. Holder of Colorado and Michael Lynn Holder of Oregon, and John Williams of Wyoming; Bonnie and Larry Bingham, as well as her 11 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren, extended family, and lifelong friends.

A private family memorial to scatter her ashes and celebrate of life reunion with her loved ones was held on July 11th 2026, anyone desiring a copy of the celebration can contact her son Michael Holder at his email address: michael_ lee_holder@hotmail.com

Shirley always reminded us that laughter is the best medicine. As we celebrate her legacy of joy, we carry her favorite truth forward:

"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones." — Proverbs 17:22 mirrors Shirley’s lifelong philosophy that "laughter is the best medicine".