Shiena Polehn

1928 - 2022

Shiena Polehn

27 August 1928 - 1 April 2022

Shiena Polehn is survived by her two children John (66 y/o) and Neil (58 y/o) She was born in Whitehaven, England to George and Ivy Carter as the second of two girls. She and her older sister, Kathleen 'Katie', spent the war years growing up in Whitehaven. Her father, George was the Editor of the Whitehaven News and her Mother, Ivy was a District Nurse and Midwife. Shiena would often bring poor orphan kids home for dinner to the surprize of the Mother. After completing her studies at St. James Junior School and Whitehaven Secondary School she followed in her sister's footsteps to London, where she studied English and Education. She then went on to teach in Darlington and Newcastle and others before she again followed her sister, Katie, to the United States where she studied medical technology at the Mayo Clinic in 1952. She then moved to Portland, Oregon in 1956 to work as an EEG Tech. before meeting her husband, Culley Polehn. They married in 1960 and moved to Visalia, California where she volunteered with Cub Scouts. They moved to Hanford, CA in 1965 where she continued her education at California State Fresno graduating in 1971 with a B.A. in Geography, summa cum laude as the class valedictorian and began a long career teaching adults (ESL) English as a Second Language and Citizenship to migrant farmworkers and county prisoners. Culley's career moved them back to Visalia, CA in 1973, Salinas, CA in 1974 and finally Los Banos, CA from 1976-1994 before they retired in Medford, OR in 1994. Along the way she fought off hooligans in London with her field hockey stick between college and her apartment and she played and won at table tennis with the Portland Fire Department. Shiena and her husband loved to camp and ski all over California and Oregon. She also kept busy volunteering and managed Cub Scout Packs and Junior Swim Teams in California. She was also an active member of the Rogue Valley League of Women's Voters, American Association of University Women and Ascension Lutheran Church in Medford. Shiena always served as a smiling face who would often greet and help new members who joined these clubs. She attended a monthly Book Club meeting at the Manor, donated her time and money to ACCESS, Maslow Project, Kids Unlimited and Habitat for Humanity. She found time to travel the world and made it to all seven continents in the world including trips to Antarctica and Cuba. Shiena loved life and people and was such a blessing to everyone she encountered. She will be greatly missed.