Shirley Irene Gibney, a most beloved mother, sister, grandmother, and great-grandmother, passed away Friday, August 17, 2018, just three days shy of her 83rd birthday.

Shirley was born August 20, 1935 in Santa Rosa to Jacob Leonard Frye and Norma Rawles-Frye. She grew up in Ukiah. Shirley and Pete raised their three children in Eureka, since Pete was a commercial fisherman.

Shirley’s first job was as a telephone operator. She and Norma were the first to answer the phones for many in any given day. She moved to Eureka and worked for Eureka Answering Service. She became a waitress at Lazio’s and worked there for seven years. Shirley loved quilting. She made quilts for all her children and grandchildren. She also loved ceramics and canning.

Shirley was a very loving and kind mother.

Her last two years were spent dealing with Alzheimer’s disease as well as debilitating Parkinson’s disease. Her last year she was living at Golden Living Center in Galt, Calif. Her daughter, Lisa, took excellent care of our mother. Lisa showed her unconditional love, patience and kindness during her last two years of her life. The family would like to thank some of the exceptional staff that cared for Shirley, in times when Lisa was not present: Maci, AJ, Janise and others that loved mom for us.

She is survived by her three children, Kim (Walt) Longtin of Ontario, Ore., Lisa (Jeff) Althoff of Elk Grove, Calif., and Steve (Vicki) Gibney of Eureka; her six grandchildren, Amber, Justin, Trevor, Joshua Gibney, Megan (Ty) Pettersen and Courtney Althoff; and her great-grandchildren Cody and Cameren Christiansen and Charlie and Hayden Pettersen. She is also survived by her two sisters, Norma White of Medford, Ore. and Cara (Bill) Anstead of Sebastopol; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. Mom was preceded in death by Pete Gibney, Joseph and Norma Frye and her brother, Bob Frye.

We would like to thank the members of the LDS church who provided continuous support for Shirley and the family during her passing. In particular we would like to express gratitude to Claudia O’Shida and Toni. We’d like to recognize Maria who, was Shirley’s care support provider until it was too hard to keep her at home.

In lieu of flowers please donate to Hospice, Alzheimer’s foundation or Parkinson’s research. Private interment will be in October, with mom being put to rest with our dad.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Shirley Gibney’s family. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.