Mary Shirley Myers, 84

Mary Shirley Myers was born June 19, 1938. She was the fourth child born to Hattye Mae Allen and Ira Langley Bailey in Madisonville, Ky. From the beginning, she was known as Shirley – named, like many girls her age, after the beloved Shirley Temple. She did not live in Kentucky for long and found herself as a child moving from place to place – from east coast to west coast – usually changing schools two to three times a year. Because of her difficult life situation, she didn’t have many memories of her early years.

Her family eventually moved to Artesia, Calif., where she entered Artesia High School as a sophomore. For the first time in her life, she was able to finish the school year and ultimately graduated with the Class of 1956.

Her best friend, Nila, invited her to go to church with her. Nila’s mother would pick Shirley up, along with some other teens, and take them to First Southern Baptist Church of Artesia. She began to attend the youth bible study and was born-again and baptized there in 1955 at the age of 17 after re-dedicating her life to Christ.

First Southern Baptist of Artesia became central to her life. It was there that she met and married Roy Myers, watched proudly as her two daughters were baptized and became a central figure in the life of the church. If there was a church event happening, Shirley was integrally involved in it. She was a favorite Sunday School teacher, planned and taught Vacation Bible School, was a devoted Girls in Action leader, Youth leader and Wedding Coordinator. Shirley loved helping to plan events and, for a small Southern Baptist church, we had some spectacular ones! From the food to the decorations, they would rival a 5-star hotel gathering.

The role that Shirley cherished the most was mom, grandma and great-grandma. Her family was her world, and she selflessly poured her life into them. She vowed to herself that they would have the stability that she did not have and, through God’s grace, she was able to accomplish that with great success. Her daughters, Cherie and Lisa, were blessed to have their mom’s full attention as Roy and Shirley thought it important to have her stay at home and be a full-time homemaker. Mom was always there for them with her unconditional love – cooking, making their clothes, helping with homework, guiding them in their faith, teaching them life skills and making a lot of fun and lasting memories. In the early years, there wasn’t always a lot of money, but there was always a lot of love!

Shirley was never afraid to try new things and was always up for a challenge. When the family started to ride motorcycles, she was right there with them, riding a Yamaha 175 in the California deserts. Later in life, she would even ride across the United States on the back of a motorcycle, pulling a trailer and camping along the way. She was a real motorcycle mama!

Shirley took great joy in becoming a “Nana.” Once again, her primary focus was on her grandchildren and, later, great-grandchildren. She was always thinking of them and wanted to spend as much time with them as she could, creating special memories and traditions. Her grandchildren remember fondly spending “special time” with Nana. It was always a treat to spend the night at her house, where she would make special nests for them out of pillows, sing nursery rhymes and read books. She had the best toy closet and took the time to videotape all of their favorite TV shows and special cartoons that they could watch together whenever they came over. Her house and garage were treasure troves of fun, creative things to play with, arts and crafts and a full-on kiln to fire ceramic creations.

As they got older, she shared with them her love of the theater by taking them to plays and to the latest cool movies when they came out. She was very competitive when it came to card games. One of her favorites was rummy. Her grandchildren knew they had to stay sharp if they wanted a chance to win – there were no automatic wins with her just because you were a kid – you had to earn it! Nana loved Christmas and took delight in making Christmas extra special. A beloved tradition was their yearly outing to Hallmark to choose a special Christmas ornament. She wanted to make sure each grandkid had a nice collection of Christmas ornaments for their tree when they had their own homes and families.

After raising her children, Shirley started a new chapter of her life as a working woman. She took on this challenge with the same “no complaints” attitude that she carried with her throughout her life, and was hired at PacifiCare – a prestigious health insurance company. With her intellect, coupled with a great attitude and work ethic, she worked her way up in the company and was promoted to Proposal Specialist. Shirley was a well-liked and respected member of the team and she took great satisfaction in her accomplishments. Her family was very proud of her as well. One of her grandsons remembers going with her to “take your kids to work” and getting to see a whole new side of his Nana.

Shirley was very artistic and creative. She loved doing crafts and made many gifts for friends and family. She discovered that she really enjoyed painting ceramics and making porcelain dolls and eventually bought a kiln to do her own firing. She also took some painting classes and produced beautiful oil and watercolor paintings.

An avid gardener, Shirley was blessed with a “green thumb” and turned her concrete California backyard into an oasis with hundreds of potted plants that took her hours to hand water – a job that her grandsons graciously helped with. Later, when she moved to Idaho, she tended a vegetable garden and scattered wildflowers on our hillside. She loved Idaho’s wildlife, especially the deer that would visit our yard, until she discovered them destroying her flowers and eating her vegetables. From then on, revenge was on her mind and she fought a never-ending battle with “Bambi” as she deployed every deer deterrent known to mankind.

Cooking and baking were some of her most appreciated skills. Her family and friends were blessed with the many meals that she lovingly prepared. Hospitality was one of Shirley’s gifts. From family dinners to extravagant parties, Shirley graciously hosted. She was famous for her chicken enchiladas and her cheese bread. Her grandkids were always happy when they would find out that Nana was cooking. She always made favorite dishes for family and friends when they visited, and on birthdays you always knew there would be candles on top of her yummy lemon juice cake.

After spending half a century in California, living most of those years down the street from her daughter, Cherie, and family, Shirley decided to embark on a new adventure and moved into her younger daughter’s home in Idaho for the next 19 years. She enjoyed the change of seasons and even learned how to drive in the snow. She continued in Bible Study Fellowship, a rigorous international Bible Study, and finished all the courses they had to offer. She enjoyed many friendships in her new home in Idaho, especially at St. John the Baptist Church, where she attended with her family. She was welcomed later as a member of St. John, where she became known as the beloved “Nana” to all.

Researching her ancestors and genealogy was a favorite pastime and gave great satisfaction to Shirley as she pieced together her heritage. She became very skilled in sifting through data and solving the puzzles of the past. She was able to take trips back to her birthplace and interviewed extended family with her grandson, who shared her passion for family history.

Shirley was a voracious reader, devouring whole books in a couple of days. She was passionate about sharing her love of books to the next generation and could be counted on to include a beloved book in any gift that was going to a baby or child, whether on a birthday or for a baby shower. Shirley was also a lifelong learner. She watched countless documentaries from history to science and nature. She loved them all and liked to share what she learned with her family. She kept up to date on medical breakthroughs and did extensive research on her own health issues, applying what she learned. The medical professionals that she worked with had a high level of respect for her knowledge and self-care and admired her patience and perseverance with all of her ailments. Even though she was physically bent over on the outside, on the inside she was strong and straight. Throughout her later years, many people would look at her and discount her ability to be independent or participate in her recovery, but they would usually end up walking away with admiration and amazement at her spunk, determination and can-do attitude. We called her our “Energizer Bunny.” She never complained or indulged in self-pity but lived each day with a grateful heart.

Shirley lived her earthly life to the fullest. She always expressed her appreciation for the many blessings that she was able to enjoy through God’s Grace and Provision. All those who were privileged to know her became better people because of her love and example.

She rested in the love of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and looked with hope and assurance toward the finish line and her heavenly homecoming. Having run her race of faith, Shirley is now cheering all of us on to keep pressing forward to be all God has called us to be. She will be waiting for all of us at the finish line with her infectious smile, ready to welcome us home.

She is survived by daughters Cherie and Lisa; sond-in-law Greg Sanders and David Gencarella; grandchildren (and wives) Justin (Erin), Shaun (Vanessa), Michael, Nathan (Carolina), Matthew (Brynn), Carisa and Carina; and great-grandchildren Josie and Charles. She was preceeded in death by parents Langley and Hattye; and siblings Ira, Jr., Gene Miller, Viola Soares and Alice Foster.

A funeral and burial will take place Dec. 17, 2022, at St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church. A memorial will take place in California at First Southern Baptist Church of Artesia on Jan. 28, 2023.