Shirley Jean Chase Ethington was born on March 26, 1935, in Willis, Kan., to Waldron Eugene Chase and Evalyn Ellis Brimm Chase. At the age of four Shirley moved with her family to Gresham, Ore., where she grew up at her father’s side learning to fish for sturgeon and salmon and to hunt elk. She gained the ability to shoot rather well, her gun of choice being the 30.06 rifle.
She was an only child. She graduated from Gresham Union High School in Gresham in 1953. Shortly after which she married her first husband, then was widowed three weeks later due to the Korean War, where he served as a pilot. The government paid Shirley $10,000 for his death. She gave all of that to her deceased husband’s mother who was living in poverty at the time.
Shirley went to work in the Jantzen Knitting Mills, knitting sweaters for our soldiers of the Korean War. She wanted to further her education and for that reason moved to Barcelona, Spain. She took a job as a model, modeling wedding dresses that were worth about $100,000 each. She was paid a bonus for her legs as they were longer than the required length for modeling.
She had many other accomplishments as a seamstress, as an artist for Hallmark Cards, Inc. and an artist and author for the National Geographic Magazine. She was able to tour 48 of the 50 states in the USA and many foreign countries, such as: Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Israel, Algiers and Greenland, to name a few.
Shirley also had a great love for horses and became a member of the United States Equestrian Team. She won the Oregon State Championship for riding, jumping and show. She gained a stunt double roll in the Walt Disney production The Horse with the Flying Tail. The movie won ‘Best Documentary’ for the 33rd Academy Awards that year. She was hired by the U.S. government under ‘Migrant Education’, covering the western half of the U.S. traveling state-to-state teaching graphic arts, speaking at large group functions, giving lectures and teaching art. She won ‘Graphic Artist of the Year’ three years in a row.
In April of 1970, while attending a local church dance in Nampa, Idaho, she met the soon-to-be love of her life, Errol Lamont Ethington. She wore miniskirts showing off her beautiful legs, which caught Errol’s attention, of course. While she walked across the dance floor, Errol said that he heard our Heavenly Father’s voice saying, “She’s the one for you.” He doubted it to be true but again he heard those same words, “She’s the one for you.” He got up and asked her to dance and after 11 days the two were married on May 4, 1970.
She became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints shortly after they married and became sealed to each other in the Temple. They became active in the church, accepting the church calling of Genealogy Director and holding that position for many years. But her most important and dearest calling in life was her husband and family, her grandchildren and great grandchildren and some she claimed as hers, felt her love and felt at home in her home.
Shirley was blessed with intelligence and enjoyed using her mind, which meant that no one would play her most favorite game of Scrabble with her. She was a hard one to beat.
She was preceded in death by her grandparents, William Asa Chase and Dell Elizabeth Loffbowerr Chase; her parents, Waldron Eugene Chase and Evalyn Ellis Brimm Chase; and her first husband.
She is survived by her husband, Errol Lamont Ethington of Taylor, Ariz.; son, Michael (Sylvia) of Nevada; daughters, Vicki of Ohio and Leslie (Tom) of Snowflake; grandchildren, Joseph Lamont Alyk of Taylor, Jeana Alyk Nickerson of San Tan and Justin Alyk of Snowflake; three great grandchildren, Faith Marie Ferguson, Triston Tyler Nickerson (Jeana) and Oscar Wayne Alyk (Justin).
A visitation will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Centennial Building on Centennial Drive in Taylor. The funeral service will immediately follow at 12 p.m. with Bishop Fish officiating. The interment will be at the Reed Hatch Memorial Cemetery in Taylor.
Silver Creek Mortuary of Taylor was in charge of the arrangements.
