Shirley Lewis

Shirley Shaw Lewis ended her long struggle with kidney failure on August 16, 2010, at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, Washington. She left us on her own terms with grace and dignity. Born on April 25, 1930, in Salina, Colorado to Florence and Bill Shaw, she was the youngest of three daughters. She grew up in Bisbee, Arizona, attended the Sisters of Loretto Catholic School, and Bisbee High School, graduating in 1948. Further education included Big Bend Community College and Gonzaga University. She loved the law and was a brilliant legal secretary and business manager. Shirley advocated for victims of domestic violence, and was committed to eliminating the inequities of our society regarding women and children She is survived by her son, John R. Lewis, III, daughter and son-in-law Dede and Chuck Warren; grandchildren Holly and Rob Holt, Karie Lingg and Payman Aminzadeh, Chazz Warren, John R. (J.R.) Lewis, IV, Dayna and Justin Warren; great-grandchildren Riley Carter, Kaian Aminzadeh, Jazlyn Geyer, and Jordan and Jerrick Crites. She is also survived by her sister and brother-in-law, Itrice and Bill Henwood of Prescott, Arizona, and nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her sister, Irene Paynich. We would like to express our appreciation to everyone who touched her life, including those in the medical community who took such careful care of her, and her colleagues in the legal community she so admired. We also thank her friends at Pelican Horn Apartments for their friendship and support. A celebration of her life will be held at the Moses Lake Golf and Country Club in Moses Lake, Washington, on August 28, 2010 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. All who knew and loved Shirley are cordially invited to join us in saying goodbye. We love her because she was fun, a good listener, always there, a great cook, honest, direct, gentle, kind, stylish, an extrovert, generous, thoughtful, intuitive, a lavish hostess, an expert gardener, she sewed beautiful things, read countless books, never let us down, would say she was sorry if she needed to, told us she loved us every day, accepted us all for who we are, she was courageous, tenacious, loyal and she could keep a secret. We admire her because she was intelligent, she worked and studied intensely and successfully, she was a valuable mentor, an excellent organizer and manager, she kept up with technology, expected the highest standards, accepted change, rejected mediocrity and the status quo, and she was dynamic. She lived her last years with exemplary bravery despite the burden of pain and the ravages of her chronic disease. Godspeed, our beautiful mother, grandmother, and friend. You have “slipped the surly bonds of Earth and touched the face of God”, in pain never more.

Shirley Lewis

April 25, 1930 - August 16, 2010