Shirley Lorraine Hendry

Shirley was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota on November 27, 1926 to parents Ben and Laura Pinochi. She had one older brother, Don.

Shirley grew up in St. Paul where she enjoyed music, art and ice skating. During her teen years she worked various jobs including department store clerk and working in a factory making cigarette lighters. During the World War II she worked in a factory assembling rocket heads. Another job was working in the County Agents office typing expense accounts. Office work was not her forte and knew she did not want a career in business. She studied Interior Design at the University of Minnesota. Shirley spent college summers working in Minnesota’s Itasca State Park and in Glacier National Park.

She married Leslie Hendry Jan. 15, 1949 and moved to the Black Hills in South Dakota where Les was working as a forest ranger with the National Forest Service. Their first son, Gregg, was born while they were living in Custer. Soon the young family moved to a ranger station in Keystone, near Mt. Rushmore. While living in Keystone their second son, Jeffery, was born.

In a year, the family moved to a beautiful, but isolated ranger station (20 miles from town and 4 miles from their nearest neighbor) along Little Spearfish Creek in the northern Black Hills. Shirley learned how pioneer women lived because the station didn’t have electricity or a refrigerator for quite awhile, but she did refuse to cook on wood again as she had done in Custer. Again they moved, this time to Deadwood, for three years, then back to Custer for 2 more years.

In 1960, the Forest Service transferred Les to Colorado Springs to work on the Pike National Forest. Their third son, John, was born there in 1960. After 6 years Les was again transferred and the family moved to Lakewood, Colorado. After settling in Lakewood, Shirley became active with the Sweet Adeline’s choral group.

In 1978, she started her own interior design business, Interior Motifs, and enjoyed this work for 25 years.

Les retired in 1980 and they bought a motor home. They enjoyed traveling in it through 48 states, including Alaska and in Canada. Between driving trips, they traveled internationally to Great Britain, Italy, Greece, New Zealand, Egypt, Africa, Thailand, and China.

Between trips, Shirley thoroughly enjoyed playing golf, playing bridge, and was very active in their church. All of her life Shirley often was engaged with various arts and craft activities. She started painting and was active with the Mountainside Art Guild and completed numerous water colors and oils.

After Les passed in 2014, Shirley remained in Lakewood for several more years and then moved to Alta Vita Assisted Living in Longmont, Colorado.

Shirley is survived by 2 of her sons, Gregg (Billie) and John (Linda); 5 grandsons Adam (Suzanne), Scott (Dallas), Jake (Hannah), Ben, Zach (Helda) and 3 great grandchildren Emsley, Delilah and Miles.

Shirley was an inspiration for all who knew her. She influenced many in countless positive ways.

In her recent words:

“I have lived a wonderful life”

A celebration of Shirley’s life will be held on Friday, 2 October 2026 from 1:00 to 3:00 PM at AltaVita Assisted Living, 1001 AltaVita Court, Longmont.

Donations in Shirley’s memory may be made to TRU Community Care or to the Rocky Mountaineers Forest Service Memorial Grove.