Shirley Jane Garcia, 84, of Beaumont, died Tuesday, January 5, 2010, at Harbor Hospice in Beaumont.

Born Shirley Jane Wilkin on September 13, 1925, in Middletown, Orange County, New York; her early years were spent there.  She completed her training in nursing at St. Luke’s Hospital in 1946.  Shortly thereafter, she took on the role of homemaker after her marriage to Eugene Garcia on May 8, 1946, and the subsequent births of their sons, Lawrence, Mark and Brian.  Shirley remained a homemaker until the boys were older and then pursued her career as a registered nurse.  She accepted a position in nursing at the Rivermede Nursing Home in Binghamton, New York eventually rising to Head Nurse and then Supervisor of the facility before her retirement.  In 1993, Shirley and her husband, Eugene, relocated to Beaumont to be near their sons and their families.

Shirley was preceded in death by her son, Lawrence, in 1979; and her husband of sixty-one years, Eugene, in 2006.

She is survived by her sons, Mark Garcia and his wife Karen, and Brian Garcia and his fiancé Carol; and six grandchildren, Steven Garcia, Michelle Garcia, Dylan Garcia, Michael Bailey, Alisa Bailey and Ryan O’Daniel.

Her funeral service will be 3:00 p.m. Sunday, January 10, 2010, at Broussard’s, 1605 North Major Drive, Beaumont with burial to follow at Pine Ridge Cemetery in Pine Ridge.  A gathering of her family and friends will be from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. Saturday, January 9, 2010, at Broussard’s.

Memorial contributions may be made to Humane Society of Southeast Texas, P.O. Box 1629, Beaumont, Texas 77704 or to ASPCA, Special Giving, Attn: Linda Tiramani, 520 8th Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, New York 10018.