Shirley G. Carney

Our beautiful profound mother Shirley Gene Carney (nee Gagnon) left us May 24, 2025 from Greeley, Colorado. Ever vivacious, she was loving, compassionate, understanding, generous, supportive, politically progressive, direct, and elegant. "It'll be OK," was her go to always accurate advice to her children and she would do anything to help us through our various challenges. The joie de vivre that defined her life was particularly evident during her last few difficult months. Having taken one of several hard falls, her embrace of life appeared as she, from a Critical Care bed, listened to Frank Sinatra and Brazil 66 songs and mouthed the words and kept rhythm with her hand. Awed by her recuperative and positive power we attentively stood by her side as she recovered, watching as she, with her usual aplomb, grabbed her life back time and again.

We are honored to have been in her world and she in ours. Losing Mom, Memé, Shirley is tough for all of us, but to her we look for the strength and optimism needed to carry us through our loss.

A Francophile, Shirley was proud of her lineage, particularly of Etienne Chevalier (1410-1474), treasurer of France and major civil servant under Kings Louis XI and Charles VII, and whose portrait by Jean Fouquet along with the rest of Fouquet's "The Hours Etienne Chevalier" is showing now or has been shown in l' Louvre in Paris, The British Museum in London, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

In the late sixteen hundreds our forbearers, the Chevaliers, Gagnons, Merciers, and Rouliers immigrated by sailing ship from the bucolic lands in and around le (du) Perche and la Gagnonierre in Norman, France to the upper St. Lawrence Seaway, an area historically referred to as Acadia, and from there moved on to the American Midwest, settling in western Nebraska.

Shirley's parents, Oliver and Lena Gagnon (nee Roulier) settled in Campbell, Nebraska, where they raised two children, Shirley and Jerry, and then moved to Colorado Springs where they raised their third child Robert. Oliver partnered with his brother Bernard in Gagnon Plating and Manufacturing, eventually moving the operation and the families to Denver and Arvada. Jerry and Robert served in the army, Jerry during the Korean conflict and Robert in Viet Nam.

Shirley was beloved by all and as a child was the center of attention for her family. She attended Catholic school in Hastings, Nebraska, where she loved to sing, tap dance and learn. She attended Hastings College, where she sharpened her political interest, a prominent characteristic of the rest of her life. She met and married test pilot Lieutenant John (Jack) R. Carney near the end of WWII and they had four children, John Jr., Michael, Lynn, Barbara and after moving to Colorado Springs had their fifth, Mary.

When she and Jack moved to Colorado Springs their children attended Parochial schools. Shirley volunteered in the school's administrative office, as well as for the Democratic Party of El Paso County, and Jack called bingo for the PTA and helped Jack and Mike with Boy Scouts.

A notable event in Shirley's life came when the El Paso county Democratic Party invited a person believed to be Mr. Kiyoshi Tanimoto to speak in Colorado Springs. Mr. Tanimoto was a Methodist pastor who survived the Hiroshima Atomic bombing and went on to become a prominent peace activist and speaker who repeatedly toured the United States. Shirley was assigned to personally assist Mr. Tanimoto with his schedule and accompanied him for two days, getting him to and from his hotel to his speaking engagements and making his visit as seamless as possible. She was deeply moved by his history, calm nature, forgiveness, and his mission to bring peace to the world, a mission that Shirley continued to advance.

Shirley was a proud homemaker and daring home designer. In conservative Widefield, Colorado, where the family lived for a number of years, she had the front door painted chili pepper red and furnished the family room with a desert orange couch and chair set. Her homes were stylish, comfortable and spotless. In her personal life, having modeled when younger, she was fashion forward and stunning in her ensembles.

Shirley and her parents Lena and Oliver (tight thumb Oliver) were excellent bowlers. Shirley consistently bowled in the high hundreds and occasionally in the mid to high two hundreds. Lena was a member of a league championship team that travelled to Chicago to compete in a regional championship.

The family's next move was to Las Vegas, Nevada, where due to the demand by employees of the exploding atomic weapons business at the Nevada Testing Site, Jack sold tract houses day and night. Jack and Shirley enjoyed the night life in Las Vegas, their favorite spot being the "Tangiers," where their favorite bartender worked and where Shirley said one afternoon they had witnessed a bribe take place between two shady looking characters and a briefcase full of cash.

The family then moved back to Colorado Springs where Jack and Shirley eventually settled into an exclusive apartment at the Satellite Hotel. Here, their marriage dissolved and Shirley moved to Fort Collins, Colorado where she lived with Barbara and Shannon.

She met and developed a relationship with Edmund Morris, who became her second husband. Ed adored Shirley and after his death provided for her. They bought the home on Montview Rd that she loved so much and lived in for forty years. Montview Rd became the center of life for the entire family, with Shirley presiding over family affairs and hosting family events. Her family celebrated her birthdays at her home and spent the day maintaining and improving the property.

A lifelong Democrat, she vigorously supported Barrack Obama and Joe Biden and the humane platform of her party. She was outraged by the cruel politics of the current administration and condemned its policies, particularly as they relate to the treatment of the poor. She donated generously to the Covenant House for Youth in Need, the Food Bank in Greeley, Buffalo Soldiers and the Democratic Party. She was also generous with her children and grandchildren.

Ever young, Shirley was proud of her shocking red hair and took great joy saying, "No. It's not dyed!" Her last year was lived mostly at Greeley Village where she was a rock star because of her youthfulness and bright red hair but also because of her warmth, charm, storytelling and most certainly her pluck. She was limited in her diet and for years thrived on nothing but grilled cheese sandwiches, potato chips and her favorite food, the noble avocado. Against the advice of several seasoned Greely Village staff, a well-meaning but unfamiliar dietician had stubbornly placed unappetizing minced vegetables on Shirley's plate, saying, "I'll just try it and see if she eats it." "She won't eat it. Don't do it!" her comrades pleaded. The dietician discovered how spirited Shirley was when the plate with the gross looking vegetables came flying down the hallway, and laughing in her doorway, Shirley said, "You eat them!" Enjoying the moment, the refrain of seasoned and caring staff was, "We warned you!"

Ubiquitous among Canadian and Cajun French immigrants, the Gagnon's included, is the charming undefined and open ended expression, "Take me there." Depending on accent, "Take me there," can mean that you're happy, sad, involved, interested, impressed or really anything you want it to mean.

Shirley enchanted everyone she met and because it is not possible to fully define "enchantment," as real or honorary French Canadians we salute her with,

Shirley! Take me there!

Shirley was preceded in death by her parents, Oliver and Lena Gagnon; husbands, John R. Carney (Jack) and Edmund Morris; son John R. Carney, Jr (Jack); grandson, Nikolaus J. Walker; brother, Jerry Gagnon; daughter-in-law, Jocelyn R. Carney; and son-in-law, Gary Walker.

She is survived by her brother, Robert Gagnon (Cindy); sister-in-law, Mari Gagnon; her children: Mike Carney (Anne) of Eugene Ore., Lynn Watkins (Lee) of Greeley Colo, Barbara Dennis of Severance Colo. and Mary Tilley (Dave) of Newport, Ore.

She is also survived by 8 grandchildren: Shannon Miller, Beau Dennis (Corey), Paige Flores (Miguel), Alex Carney (Amy Carlton) Cole Tilley (Rowan) Jackson Tilley (Michael Marano-Tilley) Kristy Kissinger, and Katie Hoffner (Devon); as well as 12 great grandchildren: Addy Miller, Maisy and Hudson Dennis, Naomi and Eva Flores, Julian and Luca Carney, Caleb Groesbeck, Jack and Luke Kissinger, Jo Renee and Alise Anna Hoffner.

Private Remembrance to be held at a later date.

Please sign online guestbook at www.stoddardsunset.com