Obituaries for May 14, 2009

Shirley Edmondson

Shirley Ann Edmondson, 84, of Halfway, died May 11, 2009, at her home, with all her family around her, after a long fight with cancer.

A traditional graveside service will take place Saturday, May 16, at 2 p.m. at Pine Haven Cemetery in Halfway. Friends are invited to join the family for a reception to be held at the V.F.W. Hall immediately following the interment.

Shirley was born on April 28, 1925, at Bear, Idaho, to Jesse Frank Smith and Mary Ann Cornett Smith as the youngest of four children. Shirley grew up and attended elementary school in Bear and graduated high school at 15 in Weiser, Idaho. She married Gene Hollie Edmondson on Sept. 21, 1942, in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho.  They had two sons, William H. Edmondson and Terry G. Edmondson. 

She and her family lived at Bear for several years after they were married. They moved to Patterson, Idaho, where Gene worked in the mines for four years then returning to Bear where the boys went to school for two years before moving to Snake River where Shirley worked in the grocery store and post office at Homestead. She and Gene moved to Halfway in 1965 where she also worked in the post office, later becoming postmaster at Oxbow, retiring in 1987. 

Shirley was known to many for her historical knowledge of Hells Canyon and its many colorful inhabitants. She was a woman of many talents. She was known for all of the beautiful flowers she grew and many prizes were won at the county fairs. She painted lovely pictures of wildlife and flowers for the enjoyment of her friends and family. Her favorite pets were cats and she could always find them at her back door.

Shirley was a creative writer.  Her letters and historical accounts formed a lasting legacy for her family. She was a lifetime member of Eastern Star and the local chapter of the Ladies Auxiliary No. 7847 of the V.F.W.

Shirley is survived by her sister,  Ruth McGinness of Oxbow; her son, Terry, of Ontario; grandchildren: Christopher, Belind and Terry Jr. of the Boise area; and eight great-grandchildren that will miss her deeply. She will also be greatly missed by special friend and companion John Wright Sr. of Halfway.  Thank you, John.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Gene, in 1980; her eldest son, William, in 1996; brothers, Frank Jesse Smith and Hugh Samual Smith; and a sister, Laura Jean Bowman.

Donation in Shirley’s memory may be made to the V.F.W. Auxiliary through Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral Home P.O. Box 543 Halfway, OR 97834.