[br][br]Shirley passed away peacefully to be with her Savior Jesus Christ on Mar. 30, 2013 surrounded by family. She was born Dec. 11, 1921 to Carl and Nora Clawson in Berkeley, CA.
Shirley attended public schools in Oakland, CA graduating from University High School as an honor student. Following her junior year at the University of California, Berkeley her family moved to Nashville, TN where she attended Vanderbilt University for one quarter prior to going to work at Vultee Aircraft. In August 1944, she married her high school and college sweetheart, Ross Cutter who was serving in the United States Coast Guard at the time. During their first year of marriage, military assignments took them to Miami, Key West, Norfolk, Alameda and San Pedro. Ross was discharged in Jan. 1946. Desiring to spend time on a Christian campus, they enrolled at Whitworth College for the spring quarter and summer session with Ross serving as a graduate assistant in the Physical Education department and Shirley working in the campus bookstore. They returned to the University of California, Berkeley in the fall of 1946 where Shirley completed her bachelor degree and Ross received his teaching certificate. In 1948, they moved to Stockton, CA where Ross taught in the public schools. Shirley worked in the Business Office at the University of the Pacific prior to the birth of their daughter Carolyn in 1950. Their first son, Carl, was born in 1953. The family moved to Spokane where Ross accepted a faculty position in the Physical Education department at Whitworth College. Shirley worked on the campus in the offices of several departments and served as secretary of the Nutrition department in the 1980s. She also worked part-time in the Chaplin's office and for several summers was part of the administrative team for the Institute of Ministry. From 1984 - 1999, Shirley filled an important role as an assistant for the Elderhostel program on the Whitworth campus. Since 2000, she and Ross have been hosts for the Elderhostel at Clearwater Lodge (Camp Spalding). As a long time member of Knox Presbyterian Church she has been active in the Ruth Circle and served several terms as a Deacon. Shirley enjoyed traveling, including tours to the Holy Land, Western Europe, the British Isles, Spain, New Zealand/Australia, Taiwan (to visit Carolyn) and multiple cruises. She especially enjoyed annual trips to Hawaii, Arizona (for spring training baseball), and San Francisco. While Ross served as tennis coach at Whitworth over 3 decades, Shirley was a fixture at home matches and accompanied the team on 5 trips to Hawaii. She was fondly referred to as "Mrs. Coach" by many of the players, a title which she enjoyed.
Shirley will be remembered for her gentle spirit and love of family. She was very proud of her children and grandchildren, attending their activities whenever possible.
Shirley was preceded in death by her parents, her sisters Marilyn and Beverly, and daughter Carolyn. She is survived by her husband of 68 years, Ross and sons Carl of Mill Creek, WA and Bruce (Lisa) of Spokane Valley and grandsons Justin, Brian and Steven and granddaughter Morgan.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 13th at 3:30 PM at Knox Presbyterian Church (806 W. Knox Ave.). In lieu of flowers, please send gifts in her name to the Knox Presbyterian memorial fund or Whitworth University.
↧