Shirley Mae (Brown) Baker, 80
Shirley, who just turned 80, went to her rest on March 7, 2010, from cancer of the esophagus. She was at peace with her death, and wanted the rest of us to be.
Shirley was born in Fairfield, Wash., on Feb. 13, 1930, the third child of Howard and Maud Brown. Her husband Ed preceded her in death in 1989, and their only child, David, died of arrhythmia in 1993, at the age of 35.
The Brown family moved to Cheney in 1940. Shirley graduated from Cheney High School, and went on to get her Registered Nursing degree from the Adventist College in Walla Walla, Wash. She worked as a nurse all her life, but retired after her son’s death. She was director of nursing and was in charge of the Alzheimer’s unit at Sunset Terrace in Coeur d’Alene for 15 years.
She was a very caring person and active in the Coeur d’Alene Seventh-day Adventist Church. She worked for Dorcas, the clothing bank of the church. Shirley also worked on funeral dinners, meals for the homeless, and started a widow’s group that met once a month for a meal and a “get-together.” She did most of the cooking, and even transported some of the elderly. She made little quilts for homeless children, and mailed about 100 of them to Zimbabwe one year. She spent nearly every evening working on the quilts. She also made quilts for her family.
Her biggest accomplishments were created by her green thumb. On her two acres she must have grown every beautiful flower that would grow in the Northwest. She took a big bouquet of her flowers to the church podium every week. Anytime anyone visited they wanted to take the “tour” of the gardens. She hosted all the birthdays, reunions and anniversaries for the family in her beautiful big back yard. Her park table held sumptuous picnic meals again and again. She has a mirror covered with red and blue ribbons from the county fair for her flowers, dahlias in particular.
She left behind a sister, Connie Schroeder of Cheney; two brothers, Merrill and his wife, Joyce Brown and Ellsworth Reade Brown, also of Cheney; a daughter-in-law, Sheila Waughtal of Alaska; an “adopted” daughter and son-in-law Terry and Vicki Trefz of Athol, Idaho, and two “adopted” grandchildren, Tom and Tara Trefz; plus seven nieces and nephews: Ronald Schroeder of Vancouver, Wash., Shelley Egan of Salem, Ore., Vernon Brown in Arizona, Susan Eastman of Spokane, Wash., Daniel Brown of Spokane, Sharon Hall of Spokane and Douglas Brown of Gresham, Ore. She had innumerable friends.
A memorial service and celebration of her life will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 21, 2010, at the Seventh-day Adventist Church, 111 E. Locust Ave. Coeur d’Alene. Burial of Shirley’s urn, next to her husband and son, will be private. Yates Funeral Home, Coeur d’Alene Chapel, has been entrusted with the care of final arrangements.
Memorials may be sent to Hospice of North Idaho, 9493 N. Government Way Hayden, ID 83835. Please visit Shirley’s memorial and sign her online guest book at www.yatesfuneralhomes.com.