Shirley Ann Bankston

Shirley Bankston passed away peacefully on April 17, 2026. She was born on January 13, 1938, in Portland, Oregon, to Anna and Ernest Lehrer. The fourth child in her family, Shirley adored her four brothers and cherished her close family bonds.

As a young girl, she attended Maplewood Grade School and later graduated from Lincoln High School in 1956. Shirley went on to study music at Willamette University and the University of Hawaii.

On a beautiful day at the beach in Honolulu, Hawaii, Shirley met Burel Bankston, a Navy Corpsman stationed at Tripler Army Hospital who was preparing to leave for nuclear power school in New London, Connecticut. Their first Sunday date was attending a military church service, and from that moment on, they were inseparable. When Shirley returned home to Portland, Burel met her at the airport, and they married in June 1960.

Shirley worked as a bookkeeper and was a true whiz with numbers. She was employed by Byron Hoyt’s Sheet Music Service and later worked for the Portland School District at Benson, Lincoln, and Jackson High Schools. A gifted musician with perfect pitch, Shirley loved singing in her church choirs and Swiss choirs.

As a devoted member and treasurer of the Helvetia-Alpengluehn Singing Society, she embraced her Swiss heritage, singing and yodeling at Portland Schwingfests and Swiss Sängerfests across the country.

Shirley was also a dedicated member, treasurer, and board member of the Portland Dahlia Society (PDS). She assisted with both local and national shows and was honored with the American Dahlia Society National Presidential Award in 2023.

She lovingly tended a vegetable and wildflower garden, but she was best known for her dahlias. Whether visiting a friend, attending church, celebrating a birthday, or simply running errands, Shirley found every reason to share a beautiful bouquet of dahlia blooms.

Shirley worshiped for many years at Hillsdale Community Church in Portland and, until her passing, at Lake Grove Presbyterian Church, where she dedicated herself wholeheartedly to the church’s ministry.

A natural-born leader, Shirley was a gift to all who knew her. Not a day passed without her touching someone’s life in a positive and loving way. Her laugh, smile, warmth, wisdom, organizational skills, and deep listening touched everyone she met. She was a devoted and loving mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, aunt and friend, and she will be dearly missed.

Shirley was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Burel Bankston, and her brothers Carl, Robert, and Richard. She is survived by her younger brother, Al; Sister-in-Law, Judy; her children, Julene (Mark) and Stan (Kellee); and her grandchildren, Tate, Drew, and Cole.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 1:00 p.m. on May 16, 2026, at Lake Grove Community Church, 4040 Sunset Drive, Lake Oswego, Oregon 97035.