- Date Of Birth: February 05, 1927
- Date Of Death: March 26, 2022
- State: Arizona
Shirley Ann James (Berger), beloved mother, grandmother, great grandmother and friend, was called to heaven on March 26, 2022. Shirley was born on February 5, 1927 to Lyle and Hazel Berger in Hayward, Wisconsin. At age 7, her family moved to Ashland, Wisconsin.
She graduated from Ashland High School in 1943. That same year she met Calvin James and they married on February 23,1944. While Calvin was away serving in the military, Shirley moved with her parents to Flagstaff, Arizona in 1944 and was followed by Calvin after his military discharge in 1946. Flagstaff became their home for most of their married life.
Shirley’s greatest accomplishment was as a full-time mother and homemaker and raising six children with love. Some of Shirley’s many accomplishments include her certification as a braillist and that her braille transcription of the King James Bible resides in the Library of Congress. She also volunteered at Flagstaff Medical Center and was hospital volunteer president for a period, along with volunteering with the Hozhoni Foundation and in her younger years, at the orphanage in White River Az.
Shirley loved animals, especially dogs. She was a breeder of cocker spaniels and was active in the American Kennel Club early in her married life. Shirley and Calvin loved to travel and did so extensively within the United States and Canada and in Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific.
She loved fishing, hunting and camping and passed on the love and respect of the outdoors to her children. She loved knitting, crocheting, sewing, watching birds from her window, an occasional trip to the casino and spending time with her family. Shirley especially loved reading and talking politics.
Her life set an example of her love of her Lord and she was an active and faithful member of Mt Calvary Lutheran Church since 1955.
Shirley was preceded in death by her husband Calvin, and her son Timothy James. She is survived by five of her children: Peter James (Sandy), Michael James, Beth Bogs (Robert), Sarah Davidson (Chuck), and Andrew James (Danny), along with her 15 grandchildren and 22 great grandchildren.
