Shirley Mae Green

March 3, 1932 - January 19, 2022

On March 3, 1932, the stork made a delivery to the home of Arthur and Edna Ford in Van Etten, NY. The bundle of joy that arrived was named Shirley Mae. Shirley grew up in the village of Van Etten where her parents owned and operated the local General Store. Shirley attended the Van Etten Central School and graduated as Valedictorian of the Class of 1949, which consisted of 17 students. After graduating from High School, Shirley attended the School of Secretarial Science at the Rochester Business Institute in Rochester, NY. She graduated in August of 1950 and quickly got a job at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. She worked there for one year as Secretary of the Government Dept. She then took a Civil Service position, performing secretarial tasks for the Finger Lakes State Park Commission. Shirley served there from September 1951 to June 1958 when she quit to raise her family. Shirley became engaged to Evert O. Green on January 17, 1956, just a few months after Evert was released from active service in the Army. The two were married on August 24, 1957 in Van Etten. After their marriage, Evert was part of the NY State Army Reserves until 1961 when he was honorably discharged. From there he worked as a Machinist at the Corning Glass Works in Corning, NY for 40 years. They had their first child, Barry E. Green, on July 5, 1958 and their second arrived on February 26, 1964. This second child, a daughter, Sheila, completed their family. They lived for a short time with Shirley’s mother at her home in Van Etten before purchasing and moving to a home in the country in Lockwood, NY. Shirley was a lifelong member of the Order of the Eastern Star, Cedar Chapter No. 400 in Van Etten, NY, now a part of Star Chapter No. 9 in Waverly, NY. Shirley held numerous offices on both the Chapter and District level within the organization. Some of her roles with Eastern Star included Secretary, Treasurer, Necrologist and Grand Matron. Shirley loved working with Stars and particularly enjoyed the many social functions. Shirley returned to the workplace in 1978 as a payroll clerk for the Sayre Borough in Sayre, PA retiring in 1988. Her husband, Evert, passed away on April 9, 2011 and their daughter Sheila passed away unexpectedly on October 4, 2015. Shirley moved from her home in Lockwood in May 2016, relocating to Brookdale – Ithaca, an assisted living facility in Ithaca, NY and resided there for almost two years. After a couple of health issues she again relocated. This time to the Groton Community Health Care Center in Groton, NY where she stayed for four months prior to moving to Glendive, MT. On August 9, 2018, Shirley became a resident of the Eastern Montana Veterans Home in Glendive. Although she always considered New York her home, Shirley was delighted to be at EMVH and close to her remaining family, whom she saw on a daily basis. Shirley passed from death unto life, with her LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ, on January 19, 2022 at the age of 89. She is survived by her son, Barry, and his wife, Marilyn, grandchildren; Crystal Green (Chris Hoyem), Lisa (Andrew) Leech, Heather (Ryan) Goble, Darren Green and great-grandchildren; Brock and Vanessa Zwicke, Aaron and Ryder Hoyem, Audrey and Adelyn Leech, Avery, Arien, Elaina, and Elias Goble, as well as, close family friend Sally Latham. Burial will be at the Canfield Cemetery in Van Etten, NY at a later date, with arrangements by the Allen-Manzer Funeral Home in Spencer, NY. Local arrangements are being handled by the Silha Funeral Home in Glendive where a visitation will be held on Thursday, January 27, 2022 from 3:00 pm until 5:00 pm.