Shirley June Combs

Shirley June Combs, 83, former resident of Smithsburg, MD, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Friday March 10, 2017 at the Encore At Turf Valley Assisted Living facility in Ellicott City, MD. Shirley was born on April 3, 1933 in Topeka, Kansas as the second child of Gilbert W. and Laura B. Powell: older brother John D Powell still resides in Lecompton, Kansas; younger sister Janice D. Powell died in infancy in 1935. Shirley grew up living in the Topeka and Lecompton area of Kansas. While working in Topeka she met her future husband, Harold N. Combs – at the time an enlisted Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy - in June 1952. They were married in December 1954 and have remained happily married for over 62 years.

With her husband in the Navy, Shirley – who had never been out of Kansas - lived in many different places: Adak, Territory of Alaska in the Aleutian Islands ( before Alaska was a state ) – where their first son Jeff was born; Woodbridge, Va; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Bainbridge, MD, Norfolk, VA – where their second son Craig was born; Springfield, VA; Colorado Springs, CO; Smithsburg, MD – where she resided for most of her life from 1972 until 2013; then finally in Ellicott City, MD. During these travels she lived through several famous historical events: The Great Alaskan Earthquake of 1957, 9.1 magnitude with over 300 aftershocks, many registering over 7.0 magnitude; Emergency Evacuation from the Dominican Republic when the U.S. severed diplomatic relationships with that country; Cuban Missile Crisis where Harold was serving on a troop transport off the coast of Cuba. All the while Shirley tireless cared for her children and supported her husband any way she could.

Shirley was an A student in high school and highly skilled in shorthand/dictation. She worked as a secretary for the Kansas State Board of Health until shortly after her marriage when Harold and her were transferred to Adak. On Adak she resumed similar work for the Dept of the Navy until the birth of their first child, Jeff. From that point on, Shirley’s focus was that of Homemaker and Military Spouse. With Harold’s service often demanding long hours, months of separation while he was deployed on ships, and advanced relocation before his family could follow, Shirley had to function independently and “run the show” on the home front: arranging for the repair and maintenance of the car and home; packing up their belonging and coordinating their frequent moves; enrolling their children in the new schools, … etc. All the types of activities that Military Spouses frequently need to do in support of their loved ones while they are deployed. Harold will be first to say that without her and all that she did, he never could have done the jobs he had.

Shirley enjoyed many things in life. She was a very talented seamstress, actually custom tailoring her children’s prom suits; loved gardening and landscaping. She enjoyed watching different types of sporting events: Baseball World Series, All the Triple Crown Horse Races, the Indy 500, any of the Olympic events. However, her most favorite sport to watch was football, college and the NFL. Usually by the time the college bowl season was over, Harold would remark that he was “bowled out”! Shirley was an avid Redskin fan, something she passed down to her son Craig. However, she did have a soft spot and admiration for Brett Favre and even had an autographed framed picture of him.

Shirley is probably “most renown” for her cooking/baking talents. Many people rave about the food she would make: homemade cookies, cinnamon/pineapple glassed ham, salmon patties, … etc; and, how generous she was at sharing them. Basically, if you left a house hungry that Shirley was cooking in, it could only mean that you didn’t come inside. For if you did, she always made sure you were well fed. Most of all, Shirley loved do anything that involved spending time with her family and friends. She was always there to help them out and her love, support, and tireless effort to help people had no limits.

Shirley is survived by her husband Harold; sons Jeff ( wife Liz ) and Craig; grandchildren Calvin ( Craig ), Shelby ( Jeff and Liz ), Dalton ( Jeff and Liz ); brother John D. Powell ( wife Marva Lee ); nieces Jenny Powell, Jolene Bickel, Julie Powell, Jill Powell and their families.

Services and a Celebration of Shirley’s life will be held at the Gary L. Kaufman Funeral Home at Meadowridge Memorial Park, Inc., 7250 Washington Blvd, Elkridge, MD 21075 ( 410-796-8024 ).

Viewing: Thursday March 16, 2017, 3-5pm and 7-9pm.

Funeral: Friday March 17, 2017, 11am. Followed by Interment in Meadowridge Park, cemetery right behind the funeral home.

After Interment, all are invited back to the funeral home for a reception with a light lunch.