Shirley Anne Hernandez

Shirley was born to Rose Kowatch and Rudy Pavlovich in Jefferson, Ohio on September 2, 1947. She was raised in Ashtabula County where she had many fond memories growing up. She often talked about Hartsgrove as one of her favorite memories, because this is where she spent time with her first husband, Keith Schultz. They started out as childhood friends and eventually became high school sweethearts. They were married in 1965 and soon after brought two children into the world together; their daughters Lori Schultz and Trisha Schultz Martin. When the girls were little, Keith and Shirley ventured westward and relocated their family to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1970 to follow their desire to live the American Dream. Shirley was a stay-at-home mother and she was incredibly good at it. She loved to cook, sew, and was an amazing homemaker. She loved her daughters more than anything, as she was always loving and supportive. She always put her family’s needs before her own. Her favorite past time was spending time with friends and family. She also loved having company over for dinner, going to dinner parties, and playing board and card games. Even in her later years, Gin Rummy was a favorite game that she enjoyed playing. Shirley also loved going to the ocean. She would say how this was a big reason that she and Keith moved to California. She lived in the Bay Area for over 25 years. Although she said this was the happiest time of her life, she also struggled with mental illness for much of her adult life. But with the love and support of her friends and family, she was always well cared for. She made a conscious effort not to have this be a burden on others. After being hospitalized and treated in the early 1980s, her illness became stabilized. Although she was not able to work afterwards, with the loving support of her family and disability income, she was able to lead a full and happy life. In the last several years of her life, she had mostly recovered from her mental illness. But, unfortunately in 2013 she was diagnosed with stage four uterine cancer. With the help of an incredible oncologist, she was in remission for most of 2014. She was so proud to say that she was a cancer survivor! Unfortunately the illness returned with a vengeance in September that same year. Fortunately she did not suffer for long, as the returning cancer took her life on October 22nd, 2014. Shirley is survived by her loving family members; daughters Lori Schultz and Trisha Schultz Martin, granddaughter Sam Goff, her first husband Keith Schultz, her brother Paul Pavlovich and his wife Nancy, her sister Kathy Hernandez and her husband Gary, and her many friends and extended family members throughout the Midwest, the South, and the West coast. She is also survived by Trisha’s family members, Paul Martin, granddaughters Antje Martin and Krizia Thomas, Ben Thomas, and her great grandchildren Ava and Logan Thomas. Our beloved mother, grandmother, great grandmother, wife, sister, aunt, friend and angel is now resting in peace with Universal Love from friends and family that have gone before her. Shirley lived, loved and devoted herself to her family, her friends, and her God. Shirley’s life was an amazing example of compassion and selflessness. Shirley will live forever in our hearts and memories. We are all so blessed to have the experiences to share our lives with her. Rest reassured in knowing that Shirley told us shortly before her passing that she had many friends and family members in Heaven and knew she was going to be reunited with them. That gave her some comfort and peace of mind during her final days. We would like to thank the Franciscan Hospice Care, Edwards Memorial Center, Multicare Tacoma General Hospital and Cascade Park Vista for their care and compassion for Shirley and her family. These organizations do a tremendous service for their clients and families, and their level of care and service has been invaluable during this difficult time. A “Celebration of Life” ceremony was held at 10:00am on Friday, October 24, 2014 at Genesis Global Spiritual Center in Burien, Washington.