Shirley Lillian Kirkland's Obituary
Shirley Kirkland was born in Scobey, Montana on December 28th, 1924 and passed away in Des Moines, Washington April 4th, 2014.
She enjoyed her years in Scobey and had a great childhood with family and friends. Despite the Great Depression her family managed to get by and she learned to be very frugal. Her Father bid on US Mail routes to support the family. He would buy new cars like Model T Fords and modify them with huge wheels like a tractor, which would enable him to deliver the mail during the bitter winter months in eastern Montana when the snow would pile up.
Her brother Alfred joined the US Postal Service and went on to work in the Office of the US Postmaster General. Her brother Charlie formed the Wolfe Daniels Insurance Agency in Scobey. Her oldest sister, Sylvia, raised a wonderful family and had great experience including commercial fishing in Alaska. Her sisters Mary and Ruby were very close to her and raised wonderful families. Shirley’s only surviving sibling is Clifford, who was honored as the Cowboy of the Year in Montana in 2013.
Shirley moved to Seattle and worked at Boeing as a typist during WWII. She became an x-ray technician at the Mason Clinic. She met her beloved husband Dan on a blind date, in Seattle, and they were married in August 1949. They were married for almost 65 years and she passed away 22 days after Dan. They had 2 sons, Mark and Carey. They moved to Yakima and later to Lakewood. She worked at Tacoma General Hospital as and x-ray technician and radiation therapist for many years. She was the kindest person who always gave of herself and humbly never expected anything in return.
Shirley was very generous with her time and dedicated much of her time to the Lakewood Orthopedic Guild and to the March of Dimes.
Shirley and Dan enjoyed cruises to Europe, the Mediterranean and through the Panama Canal. They were blessed to have many close family and friends that they enjoyed spending time with.
Surviving are her son, Carey and his wife Rita and his daughter-in-law D’Ann and his grandchildren, Danny and Melissa. Her husband Dan and her son, Mark, preceded her in death.
Shirley will be buried at Mt. View Cemetery April 12th at 12:30pm. A viewing will be available at 11am that same day. Everyone is welcome.
A celebration of life is planned for Shirley and Dan on April 12th at 4:30 pm at the Tacoma Country Club
13204 Country Club Dr. SW, Lakewood, WA 98498
Memorials may be directed to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
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