Shirley Martin

An angel gained her wings on January 4, 2024 with her daughter Kelly by her side. Shirley Irene (McDonell) Martin was born on March 10, 1935 in Seattle, WA to John (Mac) and Irene Gore McDonell. She passed away from Dementia. She lived in the Seattle area until she was 5 or 6 years old. Her father was a truck driver and spent more time in Sunnyside area so the family moved to Sunnyside in the early 1940’s. Her father was a farmworker in the area and drove combines. Her mother was an excellent housekeeper who could make a meal go farther than anyone else. They grew vegetables and when they lived in the country it was Shirley’s job to feed the cows at night because her Dad worked late. She did all the farming chores. She has always loved being outdoors. Her sister, Dorothy McDonell Iverson, on the other hand preferred being inside and learning homemaking skills. As she grew up, she continued working after school and weekends. Shirley also worked as a page when the Van Trapp family came and sang at Lincoln gym. She got to meet the family after the concert. When Shirley was in Seattle, she would love playing with garter snakes. When they moved to Sunnyside, the irrigation ditches were being dug. There were a lot of rattlesnakes around and Shirley’s Mother made sure that Shirley was afraid of the snakes so she wouldn’t play with them. That fear was passed to her two daughters. Shirley went to a party in her senior year and met Harry Wayne Martin of Prosser. He asked her out and the rest was history. They had celebrated their 50th anniversary. He was the love of her life! In the last few weeks of her life, she kept asking where Wayne was, she has found him again. Shirley was an excellent housekeeper and cook. Her chocolate chip cookies were famous with all of Kim and Kelly’s boyfriends. A few would even come back just to visit Shirley for cookies. She always shared with her neighbors. Every year she made Christmas goodies for the neighbors. Cookies, fudge, and peanut brittle were a few of her favorites. Shirley always opened her home to others. Wayne and Shirley were blessed to have Steve Schlax move into their home when he was in high school. He was always there for them. Steve was the son that Shirley and Wayne needed. As Kim and Kelly grew up, Shirley and the girls would go out and cut asparagus in the mornings before school. Shirley worked hard and this showed her girls that “you gave a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay.” Shirley worked for her son-in-law in the hop harvest for several years. Then she joined her daughter Kim in the travel business. She enjoyed being a travel agent and going so many places in the United States and Canada. She worked for Ray Hallett in the theatre at Sunnyside. Ray and his wife trusted Shirley so much that she took their son down to California while he worked as a double for Fred Savage on Wonder Years. It was one of her many adventures. Her final career move brought the most joy to Mom. She worked at Valley Hills Funeral Home in Sunnyside and was welcomed into the Humphreys family. She came to love Julie, David and their family. Shirley traveled with Julie for business classes and also traveled with Julie and the boys for vacations. Mom loved helping others in this time of need. Sadly, Julie and Mom both lost the love of their lives very close together. Mom was there for Julie and Julie was there for Mom. When Mom retired, Julie took her on a trip to Russia and it was a trip that Mom always talked about with friends. Shirley had many wonderful neighbor friends. Barbara Brewer, Mary Esperson, Audrey Edes were just a few of those friends. She continued to be friends with Laura Cooper from high school days. They enjoyed working on high school reunions. Shirley loved to travel and continued to travel with her daughter, Kelly the last few years. Her favorite trip was a cruise to Alaska with Harry, Kim and Kelly. She never met a stranger. That is why it was so sad that she had lost some of her ability to speak. Shirley is survived by her daughters, Kim (David) Rodgers, and Kelly Martin-Carter (Terry Carter). Her adopted in love son Steve (Carolyn) Schlax. She is also survived by grandchildren, Lisa (Brian) Shaffer, Joshua (Staci) Perrault, Sarah Wood, Thomas John Martin, Ashley (Nick) Harvey, Terran (Alexis) Travis, and Jeremy Foss. She is survived by great grandchildren Emily, Morgan, Alex, Mackenzie, Madison, Raiden, Jaxton, Samuel, Chari, Kylee White (Kyle), Isaiah, Aliya, Lexci, Annabelle, Maddy, Bristol, Addison, Ande, Tristan and 2 great-great grandsons, Xander and Christopher. The family also would like to thank Julie Humphreys and Daniel Schlenker for all they did for our Mom. She loved her family and friends! Shirley is preceded in death by her mother and father Irene and John McDonell. Her sister Dorothy McDonell Iverson, her brother-in-law Clarence (Ivy) Iverson, her granddaughter Kelsey Perrault Foss and the love of her life – her husband, Harry Wayne Martin. Rosary will be held Friday, January 12 at Valley Hills Funeral Home, Sunnyside at 7:00 p.m. and mass will be at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday January 13 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Granger. Burial will be at Prosser Cemetery immediately after mass. There will be a luncheon at Valley Hills Funeral Home in Sunnyside after the burial. Please come visit with family and friends. The family would like to thank Father Thomas and Gloria Ramirez from Granger Catholic Church for providing Mom with communion and Rites. It meant so much to Mom. We also would like to thank HeartLinks Hospice for all they did for Shirley and Kelly. You were angels who came to help us! In lieu of flowers, please take a minute to do something kind for someone else. Memorials can also be made to either the City of Sunnyside Animal Shelter or Rod’s House, Yakima in care of Valley Hills Funeral Home. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Shirley Martin, please visit our flower store.