Shirley Jean Hargis

Shirley Jean Hargis passed away peacefully at her home in Jackson on April 10, 2015 at the age of 75 years. Shirley was born on May 2, 1939 in St Louis, MO to the late John and Fern Niederbrach. Shirley's family moved to San Francisco when she was about 6 years old after her mother and father had participated in the war effort. In 1952, her sophomore year of high school, Shirley and her mother Fern Cooper moved to Sutter Creek where Fern owned the Fan Club on Main Street. Shirley attended Sutter Creek High School and married "Ed" William Hargis on May 18, 1955 in Reno, NV. It was a double wedding with Bert & Johnny Darling. Ed was underage (17) and had to get permission over the phone from his mom. The court clerk thought Shirley was older (she had just turned 16), so she didn't have to show proof of age. Ed, Shirley and their three children built and lived in two homes in Amador County. Ed worked at Aerojet while constructing the homes during weeknights and weekends. After all the kids were in school, Shirley took a teacher's aid job with Plymouth Grammar School, which led to her favorite position as the school librarian for many years. Ed retired from Aerojet in 1976 and Shirley and their youngest daughter, Kim, moved to PiPi Valley to homestead the old Meyer Place, which then became the "Ranch of No Mondays". Even though there was no electricity or phone service, Shirley made the transition from city girl to country girl with ease. She so enjoyed the simpler life in the high country. There was a large meadow surrounding the old cedar two-story cabin (with new kitchen and bath added), an ancient apple orchard in the front yard, a couple of ponds, gravity fed spring water, summer gardens, chickens, a milk cow and fresh wild game. Shirley made their home so welcoming to any and all who found their way into the Ranch of No Mondays! She always had a pot of coffee on the gas stove and you could just sit for hours on their front porch to watch the day go by. And if you happened to lose track of time and the dinner hour arrived, you were always welcome to stay for supper. Shirley later moved to Jackson to be closer to her family and grandchildren. Shirley is survived by her daughters, Pamela Jean Howard (Steven) of Plymouth; Kimberly Slusser of Sutter Creek; grandchildren, Taylor Ann Ristrom (Chadd), Christian Rand (Stefan), Sara Rojelio (Luis), Kelly Clark (Shannon), Jamie Harbeck (Randy), Matt Wolin (Cher); great grandchildren, Riley, Hank, Tyler, Mason, Nolan, Lela Rose, Taza, Alexus, Haley, Brianna, Reed and Joshua. She was preceded in death by her son, Daniel Theodore Hargis in 1983 and son in law, John Slusser in 2015. At Shirley's request there will be private family services. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society, 1710 Webster St., Oakland, CA 94612.