Shirley Clement Fouts

Shirley Clement Fouts passed away peacefully on Sunday April 28, 2019. She was born to an early El Paso pioneer family to Dr. Claude and Elizabeth “Betty” Gillett on Valentine’s Day, 1926. She will be remembered not only for her beautiful warm smile and energetic spirit, but also for the numerous contributions to the community and city she loved so much.

Shirley was a former teacher, reading specialist, and consultant with the Ysleta Public Schools. She served the local International Reading Association as president in 1973-74. Her service as a former board member included the following organizations: Chi Omega Sorority, the El Paso Ballet, AAUW, The Southwest Institute, and the International Academy of Texas. She also served on various committees for the Sun Carnival Association, Maid of Cotton, and tutored the UTEP football team in 1985.

After years of mentoring and teaching teens around her kitchen table, Shirley and her husband Paul, founded an accredited private junior- senior high school which was sold in 1990. Shirley went on to teach adults at Park College, the University of Phoenix, the United States Army Sergeant Majors Academy, and the Paris American Academy in France where she taught English and Literature classes.

After retiring as a university instructor, she devoted her time to writing and continued to publish several books and poetry collections. She was active in the Southwest, Mesilla Valley, and El Paso Writer’s Leagues, Poetry Society of Texas and Poetry in the Arts where she received numerous awards of distinction for her literary works. Shirley’s most prolific legacy of service will continue through her first book she co-authored in 1979 called Beginning the Search, a Bible study for adolescents. This book has had several reprints and is distributed widely for use throughout the Prison Outreach Programs in the State of Virginia. Judges, Chaplains, Psychologists, and Corrections Officers have personally offered testimonies about the significant impact this book continues to have on the successful rehabilitation of countless juvenile inmates.

Shirley was preceded in death by husbands Paul Clement and Robert Fouts, and sons Brian and Robert Clement. She is survived by her brother Robert Earl Gillett of Carson City, NV and her beloved daughters Carol Abraham (Bryan) of El Paso, and Rosemary Schultz (Wes) of Amarillo, TX. Shirley was a devoted grandmother of nine and great-grandmother of thirteen, all of whom will miss their precious “G.G.” Special thanks to Healthcare Providers: Muneer Assi DO, and Julie A. Zuniga, NP, and RNs: Rhonda, Jennifer, and Lourdes Coureges at Envision Hospice for their interest and devotion. Special thanks also to Rick Martinez, and caregivers Alicia Dominguez and Alejandra Medina who provided Shirley with such patient, tender-loving care around the clock.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the charity of choice. Services are pending and entrusted to Martin Funeral Home West.