Shirley Small Obituary

I love you, Shirley, my wonderful and talented cousin! Flowers are forever, now.

We just found out today that Shirely passed. Shirley Small was in my life since my earliest memories. She was a friend of my mother's for almost 40 years and she was like family to us. When I was a kid I loved playing at Shirley's house in Everett. It was like a little farm over there and she spent so much time working in her garden.
About three years ago Shirley came down to be with our family for my wedding. Here she was in her normal grand fashion eloquently conversing with each and every member from topic to topic with ease. One moment I remember particularly, I was hanging decorations from the ceiling for our wedding. I was standing on a folding ladder and I was wearing flip-flop sandals. Shirley walks up to me and says "excuse me, those are not the proper footwear for the job." Given it was my wedding day and I was in a hurry I said it would be okay. She repeated "those are not the proper footwear" and walked off. Thirty seconds later I went walking up the ladder and wouldn't you know I split open my big toe and was bleeding all over the place!
Shirley knew what was going on in the world around her and she was looking out for people. Whether it be a warning, some good advice, a referral to a good book, or a lead on an interesting hobby Shirley was trying to make it better for all of us.
Shirley Small was a wonderful woman who we were blessed to know and love.

The Vreeds and Sigurdars