Shirley Sue Anderson

Shirley

Shirley Sue Patton entered the world on November 24, 1936 as the only child of Jake and Viola “Dinah” Patton.  While she was born in Crockett, Texas, her first home was actually in the vicinity of the nearby small communities of Hagerville and Kennard.   Although she had some fond memories of these early formative years, they were overshadowed by a fire in 1945 which destroyed their small rent house and essentially all of their family possessions.  One small singed doll and slightly melted porcelain dog would become cherished keepsakes for the rest of her life.  By the age of ten, her father moved the family to Kountze, Texas to take a new job in a saw mill.  Thus began the life of Shirley which from this point forward can best be portrayed in phases and eras rather than a chronological fashion.

The Little Girl Next Door - As luck would have it, the Patton’s moved into a small rent house next door to Tom and Mary Hyde.  The Hyde’s never had children of their own and quickly formed an attachment with Shirley which literally lasted a lifetime.  For the rest of their lives, they referred to Shirley as their special little girl and shared in every life moment; happy, sad, major or minor.  And for the next 65 years, they never lived more than 10 miles apart from each other. 

Family – Shirley married Elmer A. Anderson in 1957.  And as with the Hydes, the relationship lasted a lifetime.  They were married for 43 happy years until Elmer’s untimely death in 2000, at the age of 67.  Along the way they created two children; Melinda and me, Terry.  They also welcomed our respective spouses, Tony and Kelly with open arms.   In all aspects of marriage, parenting and helping extended family members; they did their best and in my opinion, it was more than enough.

Her Friends - Shirley was a quiet, private and conservative person.  As such her list of friends would probably be considered modest or short by many people.  However, two words best described Shirley; responsible and loyal.  Those fortunate enough to call her a friend can testify that she would move heaven and earth to aide or protect anyone within the circle and she did so many times.  As a result she was blessed by similar treatment and benefited from those wonderful friends until the very end.  They never failed her.

Career - Shirley graduated from Chenier Business College in 1956 with a specialization in accounting. She held three jobs during her lifetime.  She worked at Kountze Hospital, the office of Dr. Eugenia Gauntt, MD and the Kountze school system.  She retired from Kountze Independent School District after serving over 20 years in various bookkeeping roles in the business office. She was known for her unwavering, loyal dedication.

 Independence - After Elmer’s death, her family and friends worried how she would cope with life, especially considering she had married at the age of 21 and had never lived alone.  All fears were unfounded.  Shirley took a deep breath, stepped out into her new world and never looked back.  She traveled to Spring and Nacogdoches to visit and babysit her grandchildren, Emily, Katelyn and Wyatt. She hit the flea market and antique mall circuit with dear friends, and worked with her beloved flowers.  Shirley could make a rock sprout roots and grew African violets like no other.  And if anything, she doubled down on her love for her pets.  Shirley loved dogs, especially big dogs. 

The Great Challenge – To say “no one saw it coming” would be a major understatement.  Shirley never drank or smoked, watched her weight, and never missed a doctor check-up.  To do any of those would have been irresponsible in her eyes.  She could have been the poster child for a healthy living magazine.  But never the less, she had a major stroke on November 10, 2009 and things went downhill from there.  It all culminated two months later when she spent nine days, lying unresponsive in ICU at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont.  After much discussion, the consensus among her medical team was that the end was near and that she would be most comfortable finishing out life in a local hospice where she in fact did spend the next five days.  Now as many of you know, Shirley wasn’t done.  On the sixth morning, she woke up, had a nurse call me and wanted to know where she was and why I wasn’t there.  Tough explanation! 

Shirley never moved back to Kountze, instead relocating to Spring, Texas to be near Melinda and Tony.  She was told she would never walk again.  She did.  She was told she would always require skilled nursing.  Not for long.  In a final testimony; her physical therapists and care givers described her as one of their most determined and fierce, yet loving patients.  In spite of everything stacked against her, she got up every day, made coffee and toast, lived life as best she could, and never sacrificed dignity or responsibility along the way.

Cheryl, Honeybunch and the Enforcer – Every life story should have a happy ending but life is tragic and raw and it doesn’t always end well.  Fortunately this one does.  The opportunity came simply enough.  Shirley needed someone to transport her to doctor’s appointments when we weren’t available.  Cheryl McClendon was seeking something to occupy her time after losing her own mother.  And as they say; the rest is history.  They certainly made their doctors’ appointments, but they also cruised Houston, hit all the restaurants, went to museums, watched movies and created lots of chaos along the way.  They also managed overnight trips to Moody Gardens, Nacogdoches and with the help of Melinda and Tony tried their luck in the casinos of Louisiana.  Nobody but Cheryl could have ever gotten away with nicknaming Shirley “Honeybunch” and nobody but Shirley could have ever gotten Cheryl to do the things that she did.  This would be incomplete if it were not also stated that these last two chapters were only possible because of the tireless, selfless, and monumental daily efforts of the Enforcer, aka Melinda aided by her husband Tony.   Melinda took all of Shirley’s attributes, amplified them many times over and made certain that Shirley had a safe and comfortable environment, fair treatment and a constant reminder of why the fight was worth it.

And for six years, the three complimented each other; responsible (mostly) loyal (always) and fierce (my sympathies to all who invoked their wrath.  The list was not short).  And along the way they provided the most valuable gift of all; Life.  

A gathering of Mrs. Anderson's family and friends will be from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m., Friday, January 29, 2016, at Broussard's, 530 West Monroe, Kountze.  Her funeral service will be 10:00 a.m., Saturday, January 30, 2016, at Broussard's, with her interment to follow at Old Hardin Cemetery, Kountze.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Humane Society of Southeast Texas, P.O. Box 169, Beaumont, Texas 77704,  www.petsforpeople.org  or Heart to Heart Hospice Foundation, 719 Sawdust Road, Suite 210, The Woodlands, Texas 77380, www.hearttohearthospice.com.