Shirley Metz, age 78, of Ventura, California, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family at their home on Saturday, January 25, 2014, after a very brave, five-year battle with cancer.
Shirley Maxine Crane was born September 27, 1935 on a farm near Leeds, North Dakota, the youngest child of Arthur and Mae Crane. She was a graduate of Minnewaukan High School in North Dakota and attended state colleges at Mayville, Valley City, and Minot. Shirley worked as a school teacher in Normania Township, ND where she taught first through sixth grade in a one-room schoolhouse. She later taught in Rugby, and then in Minot, where she met Donald Metz. They married on August 7, 1963. She later taught elementary school in Alton, Illinois. Shirley and family lived in New Hope, Minnesota, and Hoffman Estates, Illinois before moving to Ventura in 1979.
Shirley worked for the County of Ventura in the Auditor Controller’s office from 1989 until she retired in 2002. She enjoyed sewing, baking, gardening, was an extreme Los Angeles Dodgers fan, liked crossword and Sudoku puzzles, and loved her family and her country. Shirley supported her children and grandchildren in numerous ways, from teaching Sunday school, being a room mother, Bluebird and Campfire leader, softball scorekeeper, and treasurer for Cub Scout Pack 3176. She and Don traveled the United States from California to Maine, Florida to Washington, Hawaii, Alaska, and throughout the Midwest. Shirley made numerous trips to North Dakota to visit cherished friends and family, most recently in August 2013.
Shirley is survived by her loving husband of more than 50 years, Donald Metz, daughters Michelle and Jennifer, grandchildren Rockwell, Maxwell, Rebecca, and Ryan Ellis, sister Miriam Anderson and brother-in-law and Paul Anderson of Mukilteo, WA, sister-in-laws Livonia Crane of Devils Lake, ND, Pat Calderwood of Ballantine, MT, and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents Arthur and Mae Crane, brothers Walter and Ray Crane, sisters Helen Tarang, Mable Vance, Florence Anderson, and Ruby Stein, brothers-in-laws Cloyd Vance, Wallace Tarang, Elmer Stein, and Russell Anderson, nephew John Tarang, and niece Joanne File.
Family and friends are invited to visit on Friday, January 31, 2014 from 6 – 8 p.m. at the JOSEPH P. REARDON FUNERAL HOME 757 E. Main Street, Ventura. Family and friends are also invited to a Funeral Services Saturday, February 1, 2014 at 11 a.m. with interment to follow at Ivy Lawn Memorial Park in Ventura.
In lieu of flowers please take the time to read a book to a child, go to a baseball game, or have a family dinner with your loved ones.