SHIRLEY ANN CORMIER

1935 - 2025

Shirley Ann Cormier, beloved wife, mother, grandmother and dear friend to many, passed away peacefully on Sept. 1, 2025, at the age of 90.
Born Shirley Ann Kuivinen on June 28, 1935, she lived a life defined by kindness, humor, and a deep devotion to family and friends.
Shirley was born in Minnesota. Her family later moved to Fort Bragg, California, a coastal town with a long local history, where young Shirley grew up before relocating to the Bay Area to work in the airline industry. It was in the Bay Area that she met the love of her life, Richard "Bud" Francis Cormier. They married and raised two sons, Steven Michael Cormier and Marc Richard Cormier, before making Twain Harte, California, their longtime home in 1975. Twain Harte, a close-knit Sierra Nevada community founded in the Gold Rush era, became the center of Shirley's circle of friends and family for many years.
Shirley and Bud were entrepreneurs and community fixtures for decades - running the Oakland driving school and later the Sierra Driving School in Twain Harte - teaching generations the patience and skills needed for the road. Her presence at the school and around town made her someone people trusted and turned to.
She is survived by her sons, Steven Michael Cormier and Marc Richard Cormier; her daughter-in-law, Colleen Cormier; and her cherished grandchildren Kennedy, Sarah and Christopher Cormier. Shirley's family - and a wide circle of longtime friends in Twain Harte - will remember her warmth, her quick wit, and the gentle way she cared for others. For much of her life she enjoyed close friendships in Twain Harte; those friendships were a bright, sustaining part of her last decades.
Shirley's Finnish-American heritage (her maiden name Kuivinen) connects her to a larger Minnesota and Upper-Midwest story of Finnish immigrants and their descendants - a history remembered in traditions like strong family ties and a quiet resilience often called sisu.
Shirley chose cremation; a celebration of life will be planned and announced at a later date so family and friends can gather and remember her in the way she would have liked - with good stories, laughter, and plenty of hugs. The family wishes to thank the many caregivers and friends who brought kindness and companionship to Shirley's life.