SHIRLEY HARRIGAN

Shirley Jane (Ward) Harrigan Shirley Jane Harrigan, born December 30, 1924, passed away at the age of 88 on April 20, 2013. Born in Lemmon, South Dakota, she was the daughter of Fred and Rose Ward. Shirley was one of eight children. In 1953, she moved to Washington State. Shirley met David Jon Harrigan, a fellow teacher at Edgemont Elementary in Puyallup, married, and started a family. It was a happy marriage, lasting almost 35 years until his passing in 1988. After the eighth child was born, Shirley went back to Pacific Lutheran University to get her bachelor's degree in education. She was a teacher at Edgemont, Stewart, and retired from Firgrove Elementary. After retirement, Shirley turned her attention to volunteering, working as an ESL instructor through Pierce College Puyallup, and as a volunteer at Good Samaritan Hospital, also in Puyallup. She also spent several years employed at DeGoede's Nursery in Sumner, hard work, but enjoyable because working with plants was one of the things Shirley loved most. In 1991, Shirley moved to Las Vegas, where she enjoyed retirement watching her grandkids, volunteering as a teacher's aide at a local elementary school (awarded volunteer of the year!), and being very active at Christ the King Parish. In 2007 she returned to Puyallup. Throughout her adult life, Shirley was very active in the Catholic Church community. She was a parishioner at St. Andrews Sumner, All Saints Puyallup, St. John of the Woods, Tacoma, and Christ the King while living in Las Vegas. Throughout the years she taught evening catechism, helped with fund raisers, baking of the hosts for mass and ESL tutoring. Mom loved her family, church, choir, music, family gatherings, entertaining, camping. and her gardening. Her yards were always beautiful, full of flowers and life. She cherished the solitude of moments of creation. Shirley was preceded in death by her husband David-Jon, sister Florence Hulm, and granddaughters Jennifer Hayes and Amy Harrigan. She is survived by her siblings, brothers Don Ward, Bert Ward and Fred Ward, and sisters Alta Mae Schmaltz, Marge Thompson and Nancy Berg; daughters and sons Lida (Dennis) Travis, Harvey (Rose) Harrigan, John Harrigan, Rosemary Wolford, Brian Harrigan, Robin Harrigan, Ruth (Don) Perdue, and Kathy (Jerry) Allen; fourteen grandchildren, Catherine, Ryan, Caroline, Sarah, Haley, Tim, Jenna, Michael, Joshua, David, Matthew, Rachel, Isaiah and Jessica; and seven great-grandchildren, Hannah, Gavin, Zachery, Jordan, Owen, Chloe and Kylie. Memorial services will be held at 11 AM on Saturday, May 4, at All Saints Parish in downtown Puyallup (http://www.allsaintsparish.com), with reception following. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Alzheimer's Foundation of America.