Shirley Mae Brown

CORVALLIS - Shirley Mae Brown, of Hamilton, went to meet her Savior on May 8, 2023. She was 95 years old. She was born in Corvallis, Montana, the daughter of Gomer and Helen Lockridge. She was the devoted wife to her husband Bill to whom she was married for 64 years, and mother to four children. They met and married after Bill’s service in the South Pacific in WW2.  Bill passed away in 2011.

She and her husband purchased a farm that overlooks the eastside highway in 1955, and over the years created a kind of ‘garden of eden’ orchard and produce farm that fed thousands of people in the valley. They also used their surplus to feed people whose resources were limited and often undercharged people.

But more than anything she is remembered for her beauty both inside and out, her hospitality and sweet sense of humor. It can easily be said that to know her was to love her. She was the non-anxious presence in her home, worked from sundown to sunset, cooked three meals a day every day, and served her family and people who came to her door–often with the culinary skills for which she was known.

People regularly commented on her kindness, sweetness of spirit, and unrelenting positivity. One young man who worked on the farm during the summer wrote and said of her, “God used you to help me see what it was like to have an excellent mom…and your children continue to sing your praises.”

Her faith in Christ was central to her life, and she was a member of the Mountain View Wesleyan Church where a service celebrating her life will be held on Monday, May 15, at 11 a.m. The service will be officiated by Pastor Dennis Brown and Pastor Jim Winters. A luncheon and reception will follow at the Daly Leach Chapel.

She is survived by four children–two daughters: Susan and her husband Dick Hardway, Pam and her husband, Paul Buntz, two sons–David who lives here in the valley, and Dennis and his wife Kay. She also has seven grandchildren and numerous great grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Mountain View Wesleyan Church.  

Condolences may be left for the family at www.dalyleachchapel.com. 

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