Edna (Kimberlin) Shirley

Edna Mae Shirley was born Oct. 7, 1915, to Charlie P. and Mary Elizabeth Kimberlin in Farmersville, Texas. She was the fifth of eight children. She married Ira Shirley Feb. 6, 1933. They were married 65 years and one day at the time Ira's death.

She was raised on a farm in northern Texas and learned the ethics of hard work at an early age. Picking cotton, haying, minding the vegetable crops and helping to cook for her brothers were normal daily activities. As young newlyweds she and Ira endured the depression by sharecropping and working any job available. In 1936, they moved from Oklahoma to Oregon, where they resided until 1956. Her five children were born in Oregon, where she was a stay at home mom to them.

In 1956, Edna and Ira moved to Wilcox, Ariz., and subsequently to Pagosa Springs, Colo. They owned a restaurant, service station, and a tire shop. After retiring in Phoenix, Ariz., they moved to Anderson, Calif., and then to Farmington in 1988, to be close to their daughter.

Edna's greatest love was her family. Thanksgiving and Christmas were special times for her to see her kids and grandkids. She had a deep abiding faith in God, which sustained her through the deaths of her husband, sons and grandsons.

Edna loved tending to her flowers and vegetable garden. She could grow anything to abundance. In later years the garden was only a few tomato plants. Neighbors would stop to admire her amazing plants. There were always plenty of pink petunias and geraniums. Before losing much of her eyesight, she loved to crochet and cook. She was an excellent cook with cakes and pies, her favorites. She learned to cook from her mother without measuring the ingredients, but her creations were always the best.

Edna was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Ira; infant son, Kenneth Ross; son, Donald Shirley and wife, Yuriko; son, Ronald Shirley and wife, Tsuyako; grandsons, Michael Steven Davis and Kenneth Glen Shirley; and her six brothers.

She is survived by her daughters, Angela (Carroll) Davis, of Redding, Calif., Pamela Shirley, of Farmington; granddaughter, Tammie Davis, of Redding, Calif.; grandson, Leslie (Brandy) Shirley, of Olive Branch, Miss.; great-granddaughter, Amber (Jason) Brewer, of Olive Branch, Miss.; and great-grandson, Austin Brewer. Also surviving are numerous nieces and nephews.

A funeral service will be 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 24, at the First Baptist Church of Farmington, 121 N. Auburn Ave.

Interment will follow in Greenlawn Cemetery, 1606 N. Dustin Ave. in Farmington.

Edna's care is entrusted to Brewer, Lee and Larkin Funeral Home, 103 E. Ute St. in Farmington, 505-325-8688