Amy Lee Shaffer

A Life Story

Name at Birth- Amy Lee McKinley

Date of Birth- November 17, 1939

Place of Birth- Dallas Methodist Hospital

Parents- Waller Lee McKinley & Amy Katherine Kling

Childhood Memories: Amy loved to spend her summers visiting her Aunt Bea who made her school dresses and took she and her cousin, Kathy swimming, to the movies and for ice cream. Great Fun! Amy was much loved by her Aunt Teeny and she spent many weekends with her during the school year. Her best friend from high school, Mary Smith said that she and Amy would eat their school lunches in the boy next doors’ Thunderbird convertible and listen to the radio; much to his displeasure. They would take a bus into Dallas to go to the movies and lunch. They also met at her house to make lunch and lemonade and took it up to the top of the hill to pick up the mail and have a picnic lunch.

Early Faith Development- Methodist Church

Hobbies/Sports: Amy learned the ins and outs of football while watching games with her father. Throughout her life, she was a devoted Cowboys fan and regularly watched their games, sharing her love of football with her daughter, Blythe. She loved scrapbooking, reading and excitedly joined in the adult coloring book craze. She was an ardent fan of the Three Tenors, Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Andrea Bocelli, IL Divot, Josh Groban, Sarah Brightman and Celine Dion. She was able to see many of them in concert. Amy loved to travel and see the many places she had read about in books.

High School/Graduation: Graduated from Garland High School in 1958

College/Military Service: Amy attended Texas Tech University for one year. She wanted to become a fashion journalist. While at Tech, Amy met her first husband, Harold “Pat” Anthony Moore. They married in 1961 and had two daughters. To help support Pat with his goal of graduating with a bachelor’s degree and joining the Air Force, Amy dropped out of college to work. Pat was a Captain in the Air Force and Amy was a model military wife, moving from place to place with their daughters while Captain Moore served overseas. They ultimately settled in Albuquerque, NM; in 1972, Captain Moore was killed in a plane crash while on active duty.

Dating, Courtship and Marriage: At a gathering of mutual friends, Amy met Ralph (Terry) Shaffer, and as they said in The Godfather, “Lightning struck them both”. In a whirlwind of sharing their love for music, they spent many evenings in Corrales, NM listening to Constine and his partner sing and play the Spanish guitar in an old adobe cantina. Amy and Terry were married on March 31, 1973 in the First Christian Church, Albuquerque, NM where they raised their four children.

Children- four children; six grandchildren; one great grandchild

•Ralph (Spin) Turner Shaffer IV & Carol Lorraine Meagher Shaffer; Granddaughters Samantha Claire Meagher Shaffer & Sara Jane Meagher Shaffer.

•Amy Ashlyn Moore McKay & Shaun Duane McKay; Grandson, Gavin Duane McKay; Granddaughter, Maranda Makala McKay

•Kathryn Blythe Moore Torres & Carlos Manuel Torres

•Forrest Lee Shaffer & Maria Elena Cruz Shaffer (deceased); Grandson, Elias Cruz-Zamora & Katelyn Michelle Cruz-Zamora; Granddaughter, Madison Lee Shaffer Boyens & Cody Boyens; Great-Grandson, Ezra King Boyens

Life Work- Raising a wonderful family

Accomplishments: Amy was very passionate about providing quality education to special needs children. While serving on an Albuquerque Public School committee, she met with the former governor of New Mexico, Bruce King and his wife Alice King to secure their help in providing more funds for special education. Eventually she was part of a group that filed a lawsuit against the state to force them to accept federal funds for special education. The group was successful. Through the Optimist Club in Littleton, CO, Amy helped save a music program that was to be closed due to budget cuts. While in San Diego, she helped to secure a large donation for a school for blind children to purchase needed supplies. Amy was recognized as a Library Aid at Mitchel Elementary School and Hoover Jr High School. In 1958, she won the Betty Crocker Homemaker of the Year award.

Memberships: Albuquerque Evening Optimist Club; Littleton Optimist Club; San Diego Optimist Club; The Highland Ranch Newcomers Club; and the Rancho Bernardo Belles.

Attributes- Amy was a strong, fiercely independent, intelligent and loving woman who supported her family in their many endeavors. She always looked for the best in people and made lasting friends with all those she met.

Faith/Favorite Passages of Scripture: The Lord’s Prayer

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