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Shirley Wyoma Poston Thomas Messenger |
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December 29, 1925 ~ February 23, 2017 |
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March 1, 2017 |
Shirley Wyoma Poston, 91, loving mother,
grandmother and great grandmother passed away
February 23 with her family at her side. A
celebration of Shirley's life will be held at 2
p.m. Saturday, March 4, at Reynolds Funeral
Chapel, 2466 Addison Avenue East, Twin Falls,
Idaho, with Chaplain John Martinez officiating.
A family inurnment will take place at a later
date. Following the celebration a gathering will
take place at the Rock Creek Restaurant, 200
Addison Avenue West, Twin Falls.
She was born on December 29, 1925, in Bonners
Ferry to John and Alice Poston. She was the
third daughter of eight children. Shirley and
her siblings were raised and attended schools in
northern Idaho, which had been the family home
since 1903.
They grew up during the roaring 20s and the
Great Depression. When World War II started, the
older boys went off to war and the rest of the
family moved to Tacoma, Washington, to work in
the war effort, including the teenaged Shirley.
When the war ended, Shirley met Tommy Thomas, a
navy petty officer stationed at the Bremerton
Naval Yards. After a short courtship they were
married in Tacoma on October 22, 1945. At this
time, Tommy mustered out of the Navy and the
newlyweds moved to Tommy's hometown, San
Francisco, California. At this time, Shirley's
family moved back to Bonners Ferry.
In San Francisco, Shirley and Tommy opened a
small restaurant in a cardroom on Mission Street
and started a family with the birth of their
first son Stan on July 29, 1946. Shirley became
homesick for her family in Idaho shortly after
the baby came and they loaded up the Packard
convertible and headed to Bonners Ferry.
They lived there until 1956, Tommy working in
the mills and Shirley working at various jobs
and perfecting her passion for sewing. In 1956,
the local economy took a turn for the worse and
they moved to Fortuna, California, in search of
a better life.
Shirley went to work for the Bank of America and
Tommy worked in the mills. Two more sons soon
arrived, Steve, July 8, 1959, and Joe, February
26, 1964. They made many lifetime friends in
Fortuna. They became active members of the VFW
and Shirley joined Beta Sigma Phi.
They finished raising their family in Northern
California and opened a lumber shipping business
1966, but by the late 70s the economy was
slowing down. They bought a Western Auto store,
and during the recession in 1980 they decided to
sell the store and move to Twin Falls, Idaho,
where their oldest son, Stan lived.
In Twin Falls they opened The Buffalo Café,
which is a local favorite for breakfast to this
day. Through the Buffalo and their own outgoing
personalities they met new friends and became
active in the community.
When they retired in 1988 Shirley joined The Top
Hat Tappers, where she not only danced, but used
her sewing skills to make uniforms. They also
joined the Veterans Motor Club of America and
the Model A Club. They drove the Model A
everywhere, including old car gatherings and to
Top Hat performances.
They also traveled all over the west in their
Ford diesel pickup with the fifth wheel in tow,
visiting old friends and making new ones
everywhere they went.
In 1998, the love of her life, Tommy, passed
away after 54 years of marriage. For the first
time in her life, she lived alone. In 1999, she
met another WWII Navy veteran, John Messenger.
They were married November 6, 1999.
Shirley and John traveled the world together
from Nome, Alaska, to Rome, Italy, and they
spent winters in Yuma, Arizona, and summers in
Twin Falls. Shirley joined the Red Hat Ladies
Club and the Monthly Lunch Girls Club. Shirley
and John made new friends wherever they went
during the 15 years they were married.
John passed away in 2014. She joined the Mall
Walkers, played cards with her friends, and met
her partner of the past couple years, Vic
Graybeal. She spent her time with her family and
many good friends. She and Vic spent a lot of
time together, they went to Shriner events,
walked the mall, and enjoyed the others company.
Shirley was healthy and drove herself around
right up to the end.
Shirley was preceded in death by her parents,
Alice and John Poston, four brothers and three
sisters, and her two husbands, Tommy Thomas and
John Messenger.
She is survived by her sons Stan (Carol), Steve,
and Joe (Liz), 13 grandchildren, and 29
great-grandchildren, and her special friends
Jean Ross, Barbara Moyle, Virginia Linnell,
Laverna Rudolf, and Vic Graybeal.
She lived a very fulfilling, fun life and will
be missed and remembered by her many friends and
her family.
In lieu of flowers please donate to the Shriners
Children's Hospital c/o Reynolds Funeral Chapel,
P.O. Box 1142, Twin Falls, Idaho 83303.
Condolences may be left for the family by
visiting
www.reynoldschapel.com. |
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