Shirley Irene Harrington, 75, Orofino
Shirley Irene Harrington was born Sept. 18, 1935, to Joseph William and Katherine Ann Kaberline in Denver. She passed away Aug. 12 after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Cancer may have won the battle, but Shirley won the war. Cancer could never change who she was.
She spent her early years in Colorado before her family moved to Fresno, Calif. She married in October 1955, and moved to Los Angeles in 1962, where she worked at Jorgensen Steel. The marriage ended in divorce in 1973.
She continued to work and raise her son and daughter. She married Bert Harrington in December 1982. He convinced her to retire and travel with him. They settled in the area where he was raised. When she arrived in Orofino she fell in love with the river, the valley and the people.
They operated Vacationland Hotel and RV Park on U.S. Highway 12. In 1995 they converted the park to Riverview Estates, a senior citizen’s mobile home park, and remodeled the hotel into a duplex. They continued to operate the business until it was purchased to enlarge the neighboring canoe campsite in 2002. Bert passed away in May 2005 and she decided to move into Brookside Landing.
Because of her declining health, she moved to Clearwater Health and Rehabilitation in March 2008. She loved her “family” there dearly. They became the children and grandchildren of her heart. She made the decision to spend her last days there surrounded by people who loved her as much as she loved them.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Bert; great-grandson, Austin Stump; great-granddaughter, Prudence Watson; and nephew, James Dukes.
She is survived by her son and his wife of Kingman, Ariz.; a daughter and her partner of Orofino; four brothers and their wives, and two sisters, of California; one sister and her husband of Orofino; many nieces and nephews; nine grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren.
A viewing will be conducted from 2 to 4 p.m. Friday at Pine Hills Funeral Chapel in Orofino. Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Pine Hills Funeral Chapel, followed by interment at Riverside Cemetery and a covered-dish dinner at the Senior Center at 12:30 p.m.
Donations may be made to Clearwater Health and Rehabilitation Gazebo Fund, 1204 Shriver Road, Orofino, ID 83544.
The Lewiston Tribune, August 17, 2011, p. 5D
Transcribed by Jill Leonard Nock