Shirley Ann Pollock

Shirley Ann Pollock (Stortz) passed away peacefully on the morning of January 28th, 2026, at the age of 90. She is survived by her two daughters, Anne Marie and Mary Louise, 11 grandchildren, 7 great grandchildren, her sister Martha Butler of Portland, OR and her brother Ron Stortz of San Jose, CA, and numerous nieces and nephews. She has been reunited in heaven with her son Steven Paul, her husband Robert David, and her beloved dog Louis. Shirley was predeceased by her brother Richard, and her parents, Maria and Raymond.

Shirley was born on September 28th, 1935, in Decorah, Iowa, the eldest daughter of four children. When Shirley was 10 years old, her family drove across the country, relocating to San Jose, CA. In sunny California, Shirley developed a love and talent for athletics, and sports of all kinds would remain a personal joy of hers throughout her long life.

At 20, Shirley met her husband, Dave, at a dance at the Cocoanut Grove in Santa Cruz, CA. Both were college students, Shirley at San Jose State and Dave at Stanford. After both graduated from college, they were married on December 28th, 1957. Shirley worked as a kindergarten teacher in San Jose until her first daughter, Anne Marie, was born in November 1959.

Shortly thereafter, the family of three moved to Ventura, CA, where Dave joined his father as a civil engineer in the family business, Paul V. Pollock and Son. Mary Louise soon joined the family, and then Steven Paul just one year later. The family remained in Ventura until early 1978 when they relocated to the mountain town of Shaver Lake, CA for Dave’s work. In October 1979, the family moved to Scotts Valley near Santa Cruz, where they lived for many years.

No matter where Shirley traveled, she always found a favorite golf course. She loved making friends and competing in local ladies’ tournaments, first at Saticoy Country Club in Ventura, then Brookside in Pasadena, and finally the women’s golf team at Pajaro Valley Golf Club in Watsonville. She enjoyed traveling with the team to various golf courses for competitive play. Shirley also joined the Rules Committee and attended training so that she could properly instruct her teammates on the rules of golf. Shirley was thrilled to serve as a volunteer at the annual AT&T Pro-Am Tournament at Pebble Beach where she met many professional golfers and celebrities. Sundays were reserved for rounds with Dave and Steve, both avid golfers, and then with her grandsons when they were old enough to play.

Shirley also enjoyed skiing with Dave and Steve. She was brave enough to try some Black Diamond runs in the Sierra Nevada mountains, Mammoth, Banff in Canada, and Chamonix, France. When she was not competing on the golf course, practicing her swing, or navigating a snowy ski run, she loved spectating any and every sport, especially Warriors basketball, Giants baseball, and Stanford and 49ers football. Shirley and Dave carried on their college tradition of attending Stanford football games and had season tickets for many years.

As a lifelong teacher, Shirley shined brightest as a grandmother to her 11 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren. Known as Chee or Pet, she was loving and generous, with a playful sense of humor. She never missed a graduation, celebration, or sports game if she could help it, and took great pride in rewarding their accomplishments. She also adored her miniature Chihuahua, Louis, who faithfully stayed by her side for 16 years.

We will forever hold close the memory of her deep and unwavering faith as a lifelong Catholic. She attended mass whenever she could, never missing a Sunday or holy day of obligation, and regularly volunteered her time sitting for Adoration at St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Capitola on Friday afternoons. Her faith carried her through every challenge and was a steady source of strength. We will never forget her uncanny ability to find any lost item once she “prayed to St. Anthony,” along with her quick humor, fierce tenacity, love of a good bargain, handwritten cards for every birthday and holiday, and her remarkable luck, whether at the casino or on a scratcher.

As matriarch of our family, Shirley loved and was loved. She laughed and she made us laugh. She cheered and rooted for those she loved, despite experiencing the two fold tragedies of losing her husband Dave in 2006 and her son Steve in 2013.

In her later years, despite living with dementia, she never lost the spark that made her Shirley. We also are deeply grateful to her loving and devoted caretakers, Catalina and Kimberly, who cared for her with such love, compassion and tenderness until the end of her earthly life. Truly angels!

We honor her memory and we are comforted by the fact that she now has freedom, peace and clarity and is most likely out on the fairways of her favorite courses during “Twilight Time” hitting straight-as-an arrow drives, two-putting every green, and laughing with her loved ones by her side. We hope you, too, feel her warmth and presence whenever you find yourself in those beautiful green spaces.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Melanoma Research Foundation or Alzheimer’s Association in loving memory of Shirley Ann Pollock. Thank you.