Long time teacher, Shirley A. Grabner, 65, died on Sunday, December 1, 2013, at Ray Hickey Hospice House in Vancouver. She was born on June 8, 1948, in Colfax, WA, as the oldest of four children to Allan C. and Marilyn (Catherman) Barger.
When she was young, they lived in Vancouver, where her father taught at Evergreen High School. They moved to Port Orchard where she graduated from South Kitsap High in 1966. At the University of Washington, she majored in education & theatre and graduated in 1972. She chose to become a teacher and follow the career of her father & grandparents. Over the next 38 years she taught children in grades K-8, in Tukwila and then Vancouver, and also coached volleyball and basketball. After moving to Vancouver in 1980, she first taught at Lady of the Lourdes and then Silver Star Elementary in Evergreen Schools, where she received the PTA Lifetime Achievement Award. After 22 years at Silver Star, she retired in 2010.
On August 16, 1996, Shirley married Richard L. Grabner in Las Vegas, NV. They bought their home in Vancouver, where they have lived for the last 17 years.
In 1999, in addition to teaching, Shirley became an Interior Designer and in 2006 completed the Feng Shui Consultant Training Program. She became a most sought-after Consultant, writing four books to explain Feng Shui & its applications.
Her mother Marilyn Barger and brother Fred A. Barger predeceased her. Surviving are her husband, Richard Grabner, stepson Scott Grabner of Portland, stepdaughter Richelle Grabner and grandson Michael Grabner of Battle Ground. Also surviving are her father Allan C. Barger; brother, Winslow Barger; sister, Barbara (Frederick) Bugenig; niece Jordan Barger; nephews John Allan Barger, Benjamin F. and Joshua Bugenig, all of Puyallup, WA; mother-in-law Patricia (Gil) Kopplin, Eugene, OR, and brother-in-law Fred (Joyce) Grabner, Dumfries, VA. Many cousins and many friends will also miss her.
The service will be held at Salmon Creek United Methodist Church on Saturday, December 14, at 1:00 p.m. Interment will be at Willamette National Cemetery. Donations may be made to the Shirley Grabner Memorial Fund for children of Silver Star Elementary at Wells Fargo Bank.
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