Shirley Loretta Hillis

Shirley Loretta (Tayson) Hillis passed away peacefully on July 3rd, 2025, after a 5-year journey with Alzheimer's disease. Up until the end Shirley maintained her grace, sense of humor, compassion, appreciation of beauty, love of family and friends, and expressed gratitude for her long full life of wonderful and varied experiences. Shirley's life can best be encapsulated by four important "F" words: Family, Friends, Food and Fun. In her 89 years here with us she experienced an abundance of each. Family: Shirley was born in Little Rock, Arkansas on May 14th, 1936. She had six siblings – Louis, Charles, Tom, George, Bonnie, and Les. Her parents were Arthur Tayson and Dora Lillian (Guyant) Tayson, and they soon moved to California. In her High School years, they moved to Klamath Falls, Oregon, where she graduated in 1955. She met Don Pearl, a local gas station attendant, and married him, while having her first son Jeffery Lee Pearl on March 4th, 1956. Things were not rosy, and she left Don soon after Jeff's birth. In 1957 she met a dashing young man Jim Burgess and had her second son Peter Wayne Burgess on August 27th. She had her third son with Jim on September 30th, 1958 – Timothy Allen Burgess. Jim Burgess left in 1959 and in the summer of 1960, Shirley met Roger Emery – they married and had son #4 Steven Daniel Emery on January 22nd, 1961. Roger moved the family to Eugene Oregon and on April 3rd, 1964, welcomed the fifth son – Michael Douglas Emery to the family. Together they raised five children and moved back and forth across Oregon to follow Roger's construction dreams. In 1974 Shirley left Roger and met Lyndon (Bud) Hillis and joined families with two new sons to the mix – Jim and Tim (Shirey) Hillis. Shirley continued to keep the connections with her siblings and family gatherings were auspicious. Throughout this time, Shirley excelled in creating a beautiful and gracious home which was comfortable for her growing family and welcoming to all family and friends. The crowning glory and joy for Shirley was the arrival of grandchildren: Jennifer, Jamie and Jessica, Christina, Justin, Kristel and Addie, Amanda and Holly, Melissa, Rhiannon, and Thomas. Even the great grandchildren were a proud moment for her, and she would enjoy holding each one. From attending birthday parties and school performances to High School/College graduations, Shirley delighted in her grandchildren as much, if not more, than she delighted in raising her children. Friends: Shirley cherished her friendships, developing them at each stage of her life, with most of these lasting the remainder of her life. At the time of her passing, Shirley still had friendships that she developed in Oregon as a young child at Klamath Falls High School. In National City where she enjoyed time with her future sister-in-law – Ruby Tayson, and Eugene with her sister-in-law - Sue Tayson. From the neighborhoods where she lived in National City, California, Eugene and Springfield, Oregon until Bud moves the family to Pittsburg and then Antioch, she developed friends with neighbors and parents of her children's friends. Shirley's friendships encompassed all aspects of life, and each was special to her. From phone call chats to joint family outings, to sharing informal and formal meals and entertaining guests, to class reunions, to adventures near and far, to helping in times of sadness and difficulty, Shirley was up for it all. She was known not just for enjoying her friendships but for being a good friend as well. She was the friend who would be by your side while sick, just as freely as she would join you for lunch. She was known to drop off a bouquet of flowers at your front door just because. Shirley knew that friendships, like gardens, take work to maintain and she was willing to put in the effort, thus got to reap the rewards. Food: Shirley was known for being a great cook. She delighted in preparing tasty food to share with her

family and friends! Teaching herself to cook via her vast collection of cookbooks, Shirley took great care in making sure to always use the freshest ingredients frequenting various stores and local farmer's markets. Whether it was a bag lunch for her children, a family dinner, a picnic on the beach, cookies or cakes for the school fundraiser, a dinner party with friends or a holiday feast, Shirley could be counted on to cook something amazing and delicious because it was always prepared not only with her vast skill, but also with boundless love. She was known for her well-balanced meals, which always included a fresh vegetable, her ability to cook even complicated dishes such as cheese souffle, and in creating beautiful inviting meal presentations and table settings. It was always a treat to sit at a Shirley dinner table! Her jams and jelly as well as canned peaches were a delight! Fun: Shirley delighted in fun and maintained a love of adventure and learning throughout her life. She was also incredibly competitive and enjoyed card games, board games and just winning at each that she could. Her adventures took her everywhere, driving from California to Washington, across the northern states to live in Canada for a while. She visited multiple states including Washington D.C., Virginia, Florida, Texas and even moved to Monet, Missouri for a short period before moving back to Antioch. Shirley reveled in being creative – her pine needle weavings, her dabbling at painting and her love for art in varied forms was inspiring to her children and grandchildren. She loved to venture out and plan trips for her family, children, and their friends - camping, gold panning and trips to the cabin near Lake Tahoe. Boating excursions on the Delta, countless beach excursions, family game nights, Casinos from Reno, Lake Tahoe to Bremerton Washington, she loved the nickel slots! While these undertakings often involved pre-planning, Shirley was never one to shy away from a spontaneous adventure and felt these sometimes turned out to be the best. Shirley was a gem of a person who appreciated all that life gave her. Even in her diminished state near the end of her life, she quickly made friends in her care facility, where she was known as a helping friend to fellow residents and would be laughing and chatting with her new friends. Shirley quickly became a favorite of the care giving staff. She maintained a beautiful demeanor and smile, visited often by each of her 5 sons until her passing. Until she lost the ability to hold a conversation, Shirley would express how grateful she was to have lived a long life, full of wonderful experiences, as well as a loving family, many good friends and compassionate care givers. She truly embodied the adage of a life well lived.

Shirley (Mom), your love and laugh will always be in our memories!

Celebration of Life - for Shirley L Hillis" save the weekend of September 27-28th, 2025. If you'd like more information and would attend, please contact Jeff Emery at 760-805-6214, or via email at mercypilot@yahoo.com