Shirley Heinrich was born in Buhl, Idaho to her parents Lester and Juanita Bybee, who were homesteaders.  She married Rolf Heinrich as a teenager and had two daughters.  Her first child, Latisha Heinrich (Tish Shealy) was born on the seventh of December in 1958.  On the 19 ^th of August, 1960, Shirley gave birth to her second daughter Patricia Heinrich (Patt Olsen). Shirley and Rolf later divorced, but she and the girls continued to live in Reno, Nevada.  In 1968, Shirley married Pete Heinrich.  In 1971, her son Martin Heinrich was born in Fallon, Nevada where her new husband Pete ran the family feedlot. Soon the family moved to Truckee, California where in addition to raising her three children, Shirley had to contend with four wheeling the girls to and from school through several feet of snow each winter.

In the early 1970s, Shirley and Pete moved to Missouri, where they would put down roots and spend the rest of their lives.  They lived in several communities, but spent most of those years working a small cow calf operation outside of Sedalia, Missouri or remodeling their home in Cole Camp where all three children would eventually attend school.

As Martin approached school age, Shirley returned to the workforce.  She began working construction with her dad, Lester.  Later, she went to work for Levi Straus, sewing jeans when Levis were still proudly "Made in the USA."  It was hard work in a hot cramped factory, but Shirley Heinrich was extremely hardworking.  She had several different seamstress jobs and then went to work in a wheel factory owned by the Kelsey-Hayes company.  There, she and her co-workers survived a direct hit by a tornado while working as the factory was destroyed and the tornado displaced a 50-ton crane used to move rolls of steel.  Shirley would work in this factory until her retirement, often battling carpel tunnel syndrome from the repetitive factory work.  Shirley's efforts included lifting and inspecting thousands of fifteen-pound wheels per day, which was quite a feat for the petite, five-foot tall woman.

Shirley made great friends wherever she went, and the friendships developed in Cole Camp, would last for the rest of her life.  She once traveled to the Mexican Riviera with her fellow retirees and swam with the dolphins.

Shirley finished the final chapter of her life in Centralia, Missouri where she was known for her extraordinary culinary, canning, flower arrangement and master gardener skills.  Both her daughters lived in Centralia for part of that time and Shirley enjoyed watching her grandchildren grow up, while also welcoming out-of-state grandkids for summer vacation fun.

Her husband Pete passed away in 2018 from complications from a stroke. However, Shirley enjoyed wonderful friends and a supportive church community in her final years.  Shirley passed away after a battle with cancer on Sunday, July 12.

Shirley Heinrich is survived by many great friends and family including her best friend, Shirley Austen, and by her children, Tish Shealy, Patt Olsen and Martin Heinrich and by her grand-children Christina Knutson, Derrick Shealy, Gina Olsen, Sydney Olsen, Carter Heinrich and Micah Heinrich, and by her great grand-children Aurora and Alex Knutson.

She is remembered for her incredible spirit, her amazing work ethic, and her dedication to her family.

A celebration of Shirley's Life will take place 10:00 AM Saturday July 18, 2020 at the Parkview Christian Church.

Memorial donations are suggested to the Show Me Youth Christian Home and may be sent in care of Fenton-Kendrick Funeral Home 104 S. Collier St., Centralia, MO 65240.