Shirlee Elsner

Wilhelm's Portland Memorial Funeral Home

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Shirlee Kay Elsner 

Shirlee died August 10, 2016 from complications of pulmonary fibrosis at the age of 65. She is survived by her mother, Edith Elsner, of Tigard, and sister Lucinda Wiebe (John), and nephews William and Dylan Wiebe of Pittsburgh, PA. She was preceded in death by her father, Ivan Elsner. 

Shirlee was a familiar voice to anyone who called Portland Community College over her nearly 40 year tenure, starting as a switchboard operator and adjusting over the years to mastery of a central automated answering system for all the campuses. She began her career in this field at Goodwill Industries after graduation from Tigard Senior High School. 

A service of remembrance will be held at the Sylvania campus of PCC off Capitol Hwy on Sunday, August 14 at 3:00pm, with a reception to follow in the lobby of the TCB Building, located near the library. Friends are also invited to a viewing and reception on Tuesday, August 16 between 11:30am and 1:00pm at Wilhelm's Portland Memorial Funeral Home, where she will be laid to rest in the mausoleum. 

Memorial contributions may be made to Shepherd's Heart International Ministry (SHIM) in Uganda, via Global Outreach, P.O. Box 1, Tupelo, MS 38802. For information about this mission, visit their website is www.shimuganda.com. Shirlee has a personal connection to this work through a family friend. 

Shirlee Kay Elsner 

Strength in the Face of Adversity 

by Lucinda (Cindy) Elsner Wiebe

Mom has been reflecting this past week on the day she and our father drove to Hillsboro and picked up Shirlee, who was adopted as an infant. “They put her in the car and away we went!” And it’s been quite a ride ever since. I came along as a surprise bonus 4 years later.

Living on the family farm in Sherwood was a joy for all of us, and as girls we got to have more fun because we were not required to work as hard as if we had been boys. Nevertheless, Shirlee and I were out in the fields often when our dad and uncles were planting and harvesting, and we hung out in the hayloft of the barn and helped feed the cows. Shirlee was active even while she was in a back brace due to scoliosis, diagnosed around age 12. Shirlee loved cats and we had plenty of them, as people tend to abandon cats in rural areas. We had lots of kittens all the time, and we would pick our favorites and tame them. Almost all of Shirlee’s cats were dubbed “Smokey.” She loved the gray ones best!

She attended school first at Sherwood Elementary and then moved to the Tigard school district from which she graduated. She loved being part of choir, and had her special favorite teachers and many friends, not a few of whom were still actively involved in her life to the end.

Shirlee enjoyed a decades-long deep and supportive friendship with John Wilworth, whom she met in her first job at Goodwill Industries, where she was a switchboard operator. They were both friends with John and Marilyn Thomas’s family from the time their first child was a baby. John and Shirlee shared their love of travel and the great outdoors together, taking long car trips, with a special fondness for the national parks and the beach. Shirlee and John had been planning a trip to Bryce Canyon this year, but while she remained hopeful, her health was never strong enough to risk the trip. Many of her beautiful photographs of these trips are on display for the services being held in her memory.

Shirlee was ‘the voice of PCC” along with a team of others until the last few years, when she handled much of it solo. She fielded calls for all campuses simultaneously. Her ability to adapt with changing technology is amazing, as she started out with the now-antiquated system of plugging cables into outlets to connect a call. Shirlee was often worried she couldn’t adapt, but in almost every aspect of the challenges she has faced, she proved able to overcome those barriers and succeed. She received praise for her ability to handle the pressure of the high volume of calls with grace and professionalism. Her tenure there was just shy of 40 years before the college went to an all-automated central phone answering system.

After having a second spinal fusion surgery in the past decade, Shirlee’s health improved for a time but she was unable to bend or reach far as a result, and decided to move back in with our parents during her recovery. Later she chose to remain there to help with dad’s caregiving as he became impaired from Parkinson’s and also for mom after he passed in 2014. She managed all of our parent’s finances and the caregivers who came in to help, consulting with me and other close friends and family when she felt unsure of herself or felt I should be involved but cannot travel as often to help as I live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

It was devastating for her and for us to hear that Shirlee had been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis nearly 3 years ago. Most of us learned about this terrible progressive disease only in the past several months. The prognosis after diagnosis is between 2 to 5 years, and there is no cure except a lung transplant. She died on August 10th with our mother and me by her side, along with friends Marilyn Thomas, Mallory Devine, and cousin Debbie Hans.

Shirlee’s impact in my life is far-reaching. First of all, adoption was always something I felt was an option for my future, and my husband John and I adopted both of our sons. A strong sensitivity for people with physical and intellectual challenges is part of my nature as a result of watching Shirlee’s struggles and triumphs over the years. I am a disability advocate and writer on special needs issues for my own children now.

I trust her life and presence had an impact in special ways for all who knew her. Despite all of her challenges, she kept hope, and she kept going with that beautiful smile and hearty laugh! She will be deeply missed.

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