Shirley Gene (Henricksen) Pinches
Oct. 25,1944 - Feb. 21, 2025

Shirley Gene (Henricksen) Pinches, named after her two Uncles on her Mother’s side, passed away on the morning of Feb. 21, 2025 while house, dog sitting for her very dear friends, Rick & Tenaya Banko in McKinleyville, CA. She passed away suddenly of natural causes, and though this was a shock to us all, we are comforted knowing she was still living independently and had her sweet dog friend, Kaycie, by her side.

Shirley was born on Oct. 25, 1944 to Albert & Fae (Bannister) Henricksen in Eureka at the General Hospital. She grew up in Eureka where she attended Marshall Elementary School and Eureka Junior and Senior High Schools. She was in Ballet for 18 years, took piano lessons and was very active in church activities during her youth. After graduation, she went to work at Eureka General Hospital Physical Therapy before moving to San Francisco to go to Beauty School while living at the YWCA. After some time, she moved back to Eureka where she completed her schooling and received her Beauticians License. From here, Shirley moved to Santa Rosa,  where she went to work at the Flamingo Hotel as a hair stylist. She then went to work at Mickey’s Beauty Salon in Santa Rosa at the time of the Grand Opening in maybe May of 1966.

We could go on, talking about her first marriage to George Reynolds, from Sept. 12, 1964 - April 4, 1967. Or her second marriage to George (Jack) Chigris, from June 4, 1968 - April 14, 1978, with whom she had three children, John, Christian and Athena who she loved very much and was a wonderful mother to, creating fun, beautiful and sometimes less beautiful memories with. After all, we were children and she was our mother and no relationships are perfect. However, she was always there for each one of us no matter what, every single time, good or bad. Or her third, yes third marriage, to Billy Pinches, of 28 years, from Nov. 25, 1989 until Billy passed away on June 19, 2017. Shirley and Billy knew each other from Kindergarten all the way through High School and they reunited at their 25 Class Reunion!

There is much to be said about all of these years of her life, but there was so much more to her story than the dates and the details everyone expects to read about. So let me tell you a little bit more about Shirley’s amazing life…

In the midst, during and after 1966 and beyond, I am uncertain of the exact order in which the following took place, but it goes something like this:

While living in Santa Rosa, Shirley was very involved with The Santa Rosa Players theater group where she dabbled in some acting but mostly spent her time as a stage hand while tending to her young children back stage with the help of the theater community. She created strong friendships, some of which became part of the family for many years.

Around 1976, Shirley moved back home to Eureka with three kids in tow. She worked as a telephone switchboard operator at Pacific Bell before starting her job, that turned into a career, working for the county as a printer in the basement of the Humboldt County Courthouse. With the help of her parents, Shirley was able to buy the house next door to them and started the next chapter of her life. She became involved with the Ferndale Repertory Theater working in the sound and lighting booth and later with the North Coast Repertory Theater in Eureka doing the same, and also working as the stage manager. She also volunteered at the very first Dixieland Jazz Festival and later became the volunteer coordinator for many years. She had a true love for music and embraced the sense of community!

Camping, reading, photography, journaling! Shirley loved all of these activities her entire life! She went camping with her parents and sister, Helena, while growing up, went to church camp, went camping with her friends and later took her children camping! Reading was Shirley’s favorite pastime. She read everything she got her hands on! And when she wasn’t reading, she was writing. She journaled EVERYTHING that she did, EVERYWHERE she went, the people who where with her, the food, names of hiking trails, dates and times! What an incredible gift she left for those blessed enough to get to read about her life. And Shirley, who was not the greatest photographer, managed to capture so many wonderful memories on film, yet another beautiful blessing.

Shirley also loved the world of art, after all, she was married for 28 years to a Decoy Carver who had been inducted into the California Waterfowler’s Hall of Fame! Shirley took some painting classes, learning the art of Toll Painting and Watercolors, and created some, while not masterpieces, beautiful paintings worth gazing at. She was also introduced, through Billy, to the world of the PFDA, Pacific Flyway Decoy Association. Shirley became very involved in this organization, first volunteering wherever she was needed, then writing and sending out the newsletters, to being voted onto the Board where she actively sat as a Board Member and Secretary.

Moving on, yes, there’s more … Shirley truly lived an amazing life!

Traveling:

I am going to turn it over to Shirley’s own words, a sweet gesture she left for her family:

PLEASE STOP!

Well maybe not completely. I hope a tear or two is shed from time to time because I am missed. But please don’t spend much time missing me and don’t waste time mourning. I will always be with you. And I had a wonderful time here on Earth.

Each of you played such an important part in my life and I am so thankful you were a part of it, and my God, what an AMAZING ADVENTURE IT WAS!

I saw New York City when the Towers still stood. I saw Lonesome George on the Galapagos before he died. I stood on the Equator, I sailed through the Panama Canal, I saw amazing birds in Columbia & Costa Rica and held a baby sloth in Peru!

These were her words, but there was SO much more…

Washington D.C., Florida where she swam with the dolphins and manatee, Yellowstone, Sedona, New Orleans, Hawaii, Japan, France, Canada, Mexico, Africa, Vietnam and many other states in the USA!!! Shirley traveled by boats, ships, sailboats, riverboats, ferry boats, rafts, motorcycle-taxi, small planes, big planes, really big planes, trains, gondolas and even a hot air ballon! And she walked at least 100,000 miles in her lifetime!!! What an amazing journey through life!

Shirley was free-spirited, had a sensations appetite for nature, collecting rocks, feathers and other artifacts. She loved getting her hands dirty, pulling weeds and trying desperately to turn her black thumb green with her many attempts at gardening, as she adored the colorful world of flowers. She craved the ocean and the wildlife in, above and around it. Her love for the world and all of its creatures was eternal and she breathed it all in with deep breaths and wide eyes. There was a fascination for the little things as well, bees, butterflies, dragonflies, and of course ladybugs, everything except the dreaded icky, uggy banana slug! She had a true love of all things that fly, song birds, waterfowl, raptors, owls, and she held a special place in her heart for the ravens.

She loved being a Grandma! Though Shirley always thought she would be called “Granny” like her Mom, she was affectionately known as Grandma Shirley, Grandma and Nanny. She wasn’t the doting, pinch your cheeks kind of Grandma, but she loved taking her Grandkids on field trips; Movies, plays, musicals, the park, the zoo and many other great adventures…and she loved playing games. Nanny was a good sport, probably because she had knack for winning…especially Card Against Humanity!!! She was patient, loving and understanding, as each of her Grandkids are all so different, and she is already greatly missed by them all.

Shirley was predeceased by her parents, Al & Fae Henricksen, her husband, Billy Pinches and her big orange kitty Marmalade. She is survived by her sister, Helena Kassel (David), her three children, John Chigris (Lena), Christian Chigris, Athena Holling (Charlie), her four grandchildren, Jessie Telnes (Tessa), Drew Dorris, Brendon Holling (Megan) and Millana Chigris and her great-grandson Isaac Telnes (and his brother Levi).

As we remember Shirley, we celebrate a life well-lived, filled with love, contentment, friendships, and endless memories. She loved hard, yet quietly. Drank up life in small sips, not gulps. Was giving, yet reserved. Shirley lived a simple, beautiful life and she will be deeply missed but cherished forever in our hearts.

A Celebration of Shirley’s Life will be held on June 21, 2025 at the Eureka Elk’s Lodge at 1 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Pacific Flyway Decoy Association - pacifwcflyway.org - or to a charity of your choice

###

The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Shirley Pinches’ loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.