Shirley was delivered to our Lord at the age of 93 on July 26 following a brief battle with respiratory problems. She lived a long and beautiful life and will be greatly missed by her family and friends.
Shirley was born in Madrid, IA to Richard and Esther Grant and grew up on a farm with two older brothers and one younger brother. She was both a scholar and an athlete. In high school she participated in girls’ basketball and graduated as the valedictorian. After high school she moved with her parents to Alameda, CA where she worked as a secretary at the Naval Air Station near the end of WWII. There she met a young sailor named Frederick Granville. After their marriage, they moved to the Los Angeles, CA area and finally settled in an unincorporated part of Los Angeles County near Hawthorne and Hermosa Beach where they raised their sons. The family enjoyed camping every summer in Yosemite National Park.
During her working years, Shirley was a church secretary for Calvary Presbyterian Church, a police records clerk, and eventually the legal secretary for the City of Hawthorne attorney. Involvement with the church laid the foundations for her faith in Jesus Christ as a central part of her life. After retirement, she and Fred moved to Arizona where she lived the rest of her life.
Shirley was very active in the Missionary Outreach program at Mesa Baptist Church. She enjoyed meeting with “the ladies” and exchanging letters with missionaries in the field. She used her secretarial skills to produce a newsletter for the faith community.
Those who knew Shirley were impressed by her craft skills. She was known for her quilting, cake decorating, papier Mache Christmas deers, Christmas decorated goose eggs, and Faberge’ style eggs. She had a small doll collection. She also collected tea cups and mugs from her travels around the world.
Shirley was adventurous and enjoyed the many trips she took with her husbands and family. She really enjoyed spending time with her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. She made it a point to take each of her grandchildren on a trip outside the United States when they turned 16.
Spending any time with Shirley meant quickly recognizing that she was a born caregiver.
Shirley was preceded in death by three brothers, LaVerne, Harold, and Marvin and three husbands, Frederick Granville, Raymond Martin, and James Harriman. She is survived by her two sons, Mark Granville and Gary Granville; her six grandchildren, Courtney Granville, J. Carson Granville, Elliott Granville, Esther Granville, Bridget Seeley, and Brittany Nixon; her fourteen great grandchildren, Chapman Mateo Nixon, Curtis Granville, Cody Granville, Samantha Granville, Isaac Rosenthal, Isaiah Seeley, James Granville, Jackson Seeley, Cyrus Rosenthal, Hazel Rosenthal, Christian Seeley, Schotia Nixon, Paige Granville, and June Nixon; Courtney’s husband Daniel Rosenthal, J. Carson’s wife Jill Granville, Bridget’s husband Bret Seeley, and Brittany’s husband Mathew Nixon.
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