Shirley Jean Flaten

Shirley Jean (Shade) Flaten was born on May 17, 1947, in Mansfield, OH. Her parents were Clyde Harry Shade and Claire Marie (Gemzer) Shade. Shirley died on December 23, 2025, in Arlington, TX at Arlington Memorial Hospital where she had worked for the bulk of her nursing career.

While Shirley was in nursing school in Toledo, Ohio, she and her identical twin sister Sandra took advantage of a military program to recruit nurses. In exchange for tuition, she would serve as a nurse in the Army for two years post graduation. It was during this military service when posted at Fort Knox, Kentucky, Shirley met Gary Flaten who was also serving at Fort Knox. They were married soon after on April 19, 1969. They had two children, Barb and Brett, and were happily together for 57 years.

Shirley was an excellent nurse for 38 years. During her 27 years as an RN at Arlington Memorial Hospital, she worked in the OR of the Day Surgery unit and was a valued specialist in several technical surgical procedures. Shirley was active in the AORN (Association of Operating Room Nurses) chapter at AMH and had many friends around the hospital. After seeing the children at the elementary school next to the hospital playing outside in the winter cold without warm clothes, she and other quilting friends at the hospital organized a raffle of their quilts to raise money to buy winter coats for them.

Shirley loved to quilt and she was amazingly skilled. After picking it up in the early 1990s, she was dedicated to her craft. Anywhere she traveled, she would always look up and visit the local quilt store to buy patterns and fabrics. Over the years, she’s been a member of several quilting groups (recently Bobbin Bunch, Unraveled and Trinity Valley Quilter’s Guild) where she made many dear friends. Shirley never kept track of all of the quilts she made and gifted over the years, and only recently tried to catalogue them. From what she could remember, she gifted 78 quilts, but we know it was many more than that! She loved to surprise people with a quilt gift but she also loved the challenge of asking for favorite colors and crafting something unique and special for them.

Shirley also enjoyed traveling. She and Gary went on multiple cruises and traveled to the beaches of Mexico annually for many years. While they visited many countries in Europe and loved doing that, they also loved a road trip to visit friends and family in the US. They created a cherished memory when they took each one of their grandkids on a road trip to visit the extended Flaten family in North Dakota the summer after they finished first grade. After Gary took on his Cobra building project, they both were actively involved in a club of Cobra automobile owners — even after they sold their Cobra! — and loved going on driving trips with the many friends they made in the group.

Shirley above all cherished time with her family and friends. She loved playing cards and games, working huge puzzles, cooking (especially big family cooking projects like making danish, ravioli and Norwegian lefse), and teaching her grandkids how to sew, knit and crochet. During the pandemic, she and Gary took in a stray kitten, dubbed Mr. Nibbs, who despite being terrified of all humans, became a devoted pet companion to them. She will be dearly missed by many.

Shirley is survived by her husband Gary Flaten; daughter Barb Fowler, son Brett Flaten; son-in-law Rob Fowler; grandchildren Annaliese Fowler, Olivia Fowler, Samantha Fowler, Trinity Flaten and Gabriel Flaten; brother-in-law Raymond Batchelor; nephews Tony Batchelor, Douglas Batchelor and Jonathon Batchelor. She was predeceased in death by her parents Clyde and Claire Shade and her twin sister, Sandra .