Shirk, Eleanor's Obituary
I am Eleanor Shirk, born September 13, 1933, in Trenton Missouri to Lem and Sunshine Elliott. I am the oldest of three siblings. My brother was born in 1936 and had cerebral palsy due to birth complications. The doctors told my parents he would probably not live to be 20 years old. My sister Helen was born in 1940, a cute and lively little redhead. We lived on a farm and I attended a one room school with one teacher and eight students. There was no electricity, central heat, or indoor plumbing, just like our home. I really like going to school. By 1942 my parents had looked into special schools for handicapped children and decided on one located in Wichita Kansas called the “Institute of Logopedics”. In December we moved from the farm to Wichita. I was so excited think that I would soon be a ‘City Girl’. No more farm chores for me. I attended Fairmont elementary school, Roosevelt Junior High and graduated from Wichita East High. It was in junior high where I first noticed the guy that would someday become my husband. Harold Shirk didn’t notice me till sometime later. The most significant requirement for me in junior high was a paper we had to write for our ninth grade math teacher. It was about our thoughts for the future and if we wanted to attend college. Why and what we did want to study. I knew I wanted to go to college after all my home was just four blocks from the University of Wichita. I decided I wanted to be a teacher just like the ones who would help my brother in his classes and speech therapy. That became my dream. As I was finishing the ninth grade my brother started having severe epileptic seizures. Doctors and teachers recommended that he be admitted to an
institution for epileptics in Parsons Kansas. It took a while for him to adjust but eventually he called it his home. He was 30 years old when he died.
In High School I began to have the desire to know more about God. My parents were inactive Baptists. There was a Congregational church in our neighborhood which many of the neighbors attended. Through their invitations I began to attend regularly. While attending church camp my faith took root and began to grow and has helped me through many situations ever since. Getting back to High School, Harold and I both played in the band. He asked me to the senior prom and soon we began dating. We both attended the University of Wichita. He majored in accounting, and I majored in elementary education and speech therapy. We dated all through college and graduated in May 1955. Our wedding was one week after graduation on June 4 in the Congregational Church. Our first jobs took us to Kansas City. Harold worked as an accountant for the Long Bell Lumber Company and I was a speech therapist for the Johnson County schools in Overland Park, Kansas. Harold’s job came to an abrupt end when he received his draft notice. He served two years in the Navy on an aircraft carrier, the USS WASP. We became parents of three children and changed jobs and moved several times in Wichita after his military duty. By 1965 Harold decided that he would like to work for a larger company, preferably an oil company. He was interviewed and hired by Pan American Oil Company and they moved us to Tulsa. A few years later Pan-American had a name change and became Amoco. Harold retired from Amoco after working there for 29 years. I attended Tulsa University to earn my Oklahoma teaching certificate. Shortly thereafter, due to declining school enrollment, Tulsa teachers were being laid off. I was not fortunate enough to obtain a full-time teaching position,
however I did a lot of substitute teaching for five years. When my certification expired I applied for a temporary job with Amoco which led to a full-time position. I worked as a staff assistant in the Patents and Licensing Department for 12 years and then this department was one of the first to be discontinued in Tulsa. It was retirement for me and I got a head start before Harold retired. We joined Asbury in 1968 and became involved in various church activities. I have been and still active in UMW. Harold played his baritone horn in the orchestra. Together we belong to a small Bible study group made up of five couples. We served as Friendly Visitors calling on first-time visitors to Asbury. We participated in mission trips and became members of the Happy Christians Sunday School class 18 years ago. In our retirement we enjoyed cruises, playing bridge, square dancing, and attending many school and church activities which our four grandchildren took part in.
Harold had a massive heart attack and died right after the Asbury Palm Sunday service March 28, 2010. We would have celebrated our 55th wedding anniversary several weeks later. I have been blessed by family, church and friends with their care, concern and encouragement these past two years. From my life experiences and with Stephen Ministry training I would like to help others going through difficult times.
Eleanor’s life will continue to be remembered and celebrated by the following survivors:
Daughter Carol Culp and husband Even Culp
Daughter Janet Johnston of Centennial, Colorado
Son Steve Shirk, and wife Wendy Shirk
Jason Byrne of Wichita. KS
Grandchildren
Lindsey Roberts and husband Chris Roberts
Natalie Gibbs and husband George Gibbs
Tyler Shirk and wife Erin Shirk
Holly Shirk and husband Jesse Pandian
Great Grand Children
Cora and Cameron Roberts
Robin and Sylvie Shirk
Noah Pandian
Eleanor was proceeded in death by:
Harold Shirk, Kelli and Kasie Byrne, David Johnston, and Helen Jackson
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