Shirley Roe Painter passed away on Friday, November 16, at the Hospice House in Kennewick, Washington. Shirley was born June 12, 1930 in Auburn Washington to Orvelle Robert Roe and Doris Noll Inman Roe. She grew up in Auburn where her parents had a gladiola bulb farm. Shirley was a Worthy Advisor in Rainbow Girls and was very active in ballet and tap dancing in her younger years. She also enjoyed playing the clarinet, and was an accomplished marimba player in her high school years. She attended Washington State College after graduating from Auburn High School. Shirley met her husband Clyde while going to school in Pullman, and they were married in 1950 in Auburn. Shirley finished her B.A. in Education at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma in 1955. In 1970, she earned an M.A. in Education with a specialization in the audiovisual field from Central Washington University, and in 1980, a Masters in Librarianship from the University of Washington. She taught one year in Enumclaw, fourteen years in Othello, and twentytwo years in the Tri-City area, both in the K-12 system and for the Education Department of Eastern Washington University. Many of her teaching years were spent as an elementary school library-media specialist and in teaching Children's Literature and supervising student teachers at the university level. Reading, and encouraging children to read was a life long passion for Shirley. Volunteering was a way of life for Shirley. She was state president of the Washington Library Media Association for school librarians, President of the Ben Franklin Village Association, Chair of the 8 County SE Washington Aging and Long Term Care Board, Chair of the National Committee on Older Adult Ministries of the Methodist Church, Chair of the Mid Columbia Library Board of Trustees, and many other local, state, conference and national boards and committees. She was instrumental in facilitating the development of the Village at Canyon Lakes, an active adult community in south Kennewick. A very touching honor to both she and her husband was the naming of the park at the Village at Canyon Lakes in their honor. Shirley was also honored as the Kennewick Woman of the Year in 1995 and the Woman of Distinction for Soroptomist International of PascoKennewick. Shirley was a long time active Methodist, with Kennewick First UMC being her church home for the last 37 years. Reading, traveling, and people have been her special interests. Shirley greatly valued the roles of wife, mother and grandmother and took great pride in her family. She was preceded in death by her sister Joy Turley and her grandson Derek Painter. She is survived by Clyde, her husband of 57 years, her son Dale and his wife Susan, her son Mark, her grandsons Zachary, Jason, Evan and Alex, her aunt, Isabel Inman, cousins Marie Brannon, Marjorie Leggett, Francis Sutterfield and Elin. A memorial service will be held at the First United Methodist Church of Kennewick at 2 South Dayton St. on Saturday November 24 at 11:00 AM. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her name to Kennewick First UMC Future Building Fund or Chapter ED PEO International Peace Scholarship Fund, c/o Gloria Boushey-Weidle, 312 S. Columbia Center Blvd., No. 62, Kennewick, WA 99336.