Neysa Son Lively

At the beautiful age of 93 Neysa Son departed February 12, 2017. Born a child of God near Milburn, Oklahoma, June 1, 1923, she graduated from Ardmore High. She moved to Lubbock to attend Texas Tech around 1940.

There she met David Compton. They married shortly before he shipped out as a pilot with the Army Air Corp. As the war would have it, he would never return, shot down over Austria. From their marriage, David Neyland Compton II was born. A young mother working in a record store in Plainview, Neysa met her second husband, another flyer and once German POW, Noble Shires. From that marriage came her second son, Michael.

The dissolution of that marriage 16 years later found Neysa the owner of the 7-til-11 Food Store, corner of Amherst and College Avenue. A single mom, she turned the failing grocery store into a bustling success. There she met her lifelong husband, Lee Lively, a veteran who served with MacArthur in the Philippines. They were married nearly 50 years, separated by Lee’s death in 2009. She was the essential matriarch leaving a lasting mark of love and wisdom on all she touched. A virtuoso pianist, she sounded more like Gershwin than Gershwin.

She is survived by her sister, Sue Billman of Wichita, her brother James Son of San Antonio, two sons, David Shires and his wife Vicki of Lubbock, Michael Shires of Austin, six grandchildren, Neysa Anderson and her husband Steve of Las Vegas, David Compton Shires III of Lubbock, Audra Dyer and her husband Steve of Lubbock, Colt Shires of Colorado Springs, Lindsay Moore and her husband Jeremy of Kingwood, Blake Shires and his wife Valerie of San Antonio and 18 great grandchildren.

For all who visited her, she always stood on her porch waving goodbye as we left. Now in a floodgate of tears we wave goodbye to her. And grandmother, tell your new pilot to drive carefully.

Online condolences may be offered on our website at www.resthavenfuneralhome.com. Arrangements under the direction of Resthaven Funeral Home & Memorial Park, Lubbock, TX.