Shirley Louise Herron

Shirley Herron, beloved wife, sister, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend, passed away on Friday, March 28th, 2014 at St Anthony’s Hospital. She was 89 years old. She is survived by her husband of 65 years, James K Herron, brother, Jack, daughters, Carol Sue and Hope, sons, John and Jim, and by seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, and by the many friends who became close as family.
She was born to Harold and Hazel Gossett in Dennison, Ohio on May 23rd, 1924. She worked as a secretary at Wright Patterson AFB outside of Dayton during World War II, and later as a telephone operator for Bell Telephone. She and her cousin Eileen enjoyed taking the train to Pittsburgh and New York for shopping and fun. Eileen introduced her to James, and they married in 1949 and raised four children.
In 1972, after 14 years in California, the Herrons moved to Port Orchard, where Shirley built close friendships with many neighbors. She made the house they bought into a home. She enjoyed baking, particularly gingerbread and molasses cookies, a favorite family treat. She loved to travel. The family made many trips around the U.S. and Alaska in their motor home. For 30 memorable years James and Shirley traveled to Jazz festivals up and down the west coast. Their Port Orchard home has been the site of annual, ever-increasing family holidays full of joy and excitement. In between, Shirley enjoyed reading mystery novels and watching sports. Her favorite authors were Sue Grafton and J. A. Jance. She was a big fan of the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Seattle Seahawks and never missed a televised game.
Shirley was deeply loved and will be missed.