Shirley Alleen Morrison Pruden

Shirley Alleen (Morrison) Pruden, born May 28, 1920, San Francisco, California to John Chancellor Morrison and Alleen Miriam (Cozad) Morrison, passed away peacefully in her sleep, December 14, 2012 in Carlsbad, California. She lived her entire life, with the exception of the last 5 ½ months, in Northern California. Her mother was noted artist; Alleen (Cozad) Morrison and Shirley, her mother, Grandmother Miriam (Dieren) Cozad were in the “Artists in California, 1786-1940” as well as the book of Early California Artists. Shirley studied under artists Edith White, Chiura Obata and Erle Loran.

Shirley was a graduate of UC Berkeley, member of Beta Gamma Sigma (Honor Society), XYPBG Group, and served with the US Coast Guard Reserves, Alameda County during World War II. She married the late John Irely Pruden August 20, 1950 in Berkeley, CA. He predeceased her June 28, 2012 in Sebastopol, California; her daughter Pamela Jean Pruden passed away December 9, 2012. Shirley worked as a legal secretary and accountant until 1969, and then became a Realtor, winning Salesman of the Month repeatedly in Lafayette, CA. She and her husband moved to Sebastopol, CA in 1981 where she continued to work both in Real Estate and as an artist until retiring at age 85. They both lived in Sebastopol until 2011, when they moved to a residential care facility in Santa Rosa, CA.

In Sebastopol, CA she was a member of the Sonoma County Artists Association and was renowned for her floral watercolors and pastels, as well as landscapes. She taught many art classes and the day before she went to be with our Lord, she was teaching an art class at Emeritus Carlsbad.

Upon the death of her husband, she joined daughter and son-in-law, Patricia and Robert Pascoe in Carlsbad, CA, where she was a resident of Emeritus Carlsbad. She was a member of the Community Church of Sebastopol, and the last five months she attended Living Water Foursquare Church in Carlsbad, where Robert Pascoe is Senior Pastor.

She was a loving wife and mother; beloved by all, and kind to all. Her new friends in Carlsbad, along with daughter Patricia Pascoe and son-in-law Robert, will miss her deeply, as will her many friends around the country. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Alzheimer’s Association, or Susan G. Komen San Diego.