Shirley Beggs Hodgdon Cole went to be with Jesus on Wednesday April 22, 2020 at her home at Evergreen Fountains in Spokane Valley, WA. She was born in Walker, MN on April 26, 1937 to Henry Oliver Beggs and Hilda Paxson Beggs. Her five sisters: Lois, Leona, Lorraine, Carol and Judy preceded her in death.
Shirley graduated from Bemidji, High School in 1955. She earned her two-year teaching certificate in 1957 from Wessington Springs College and started teaching that year in New Effington, SD. After teaching there for two years she moved back home to Backus, MN to teach second grade. Her niece Raylene remembers being a second grader when her Aunt Shirley was teaching second grade, and Raylene thought that Aunt Shirley was the smartest person she knew. She continued her education in the summers to complete her Bachelor's degree.
In 1963 Shirley decided to move to Boise, Idaho because her brother Harold was moving there with his family. She got a job at Collister Elementary teaching 36 second graders. When her parents came to Boise for a visit, they decided to stay in Boise that winter. Her dad decided to go tell the people at the Boise paper he was in town. They found him interesting and put a small article in the paper that Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Beggs from Backus, MN had just moved to Boise to live with their daughter Shirley. OJ Bothne saw the article in the paper and decided to go meet Mr. and Mrs. Beggs. After meeting The Beggs’ and Shirley, he decided that Shirley should meet his nephew James. Shirley and James met in February and in June 1964 Shirley married James “Jim” Hodgdon. They had two daughters: Cynthia “Cindy” Hodgdon who teaches 4th grade in Irrigon, OR and Michelle “Shelley” Hodgdon St Peter who works for Fidelity National Title Company lives in Spokane, WA.
Shirley continued teaching in Boise, ID until the family moved to Twin Falls, ID and then Lewiston, ID. She resumed teaching after the family moved to Osburn, ID.
Jim and Shirley were very active in the Silver Valley community and loved serving together at the then Kellogg Church of the Nazarene. Shirley helped Jim teach adult Sunday School, taught Children's Church, directed Vacation Bible School, but her heart was in missions. She was (then) Nazarene World Mission Society President for many years and loved doing her part to share the gospel and tell about the missions of the Church of the Nazarene worldwide. Jim passed away on September 1, 1995.
In 1999 Shirley retired from teaching after 36 years as an educator. The last 22 years she taught kindergarten and Third grade in the Wallace, ID School District. Her student Kyle Pettis said, “She was an inspirational woman and I am forever grateful that she was my teacher all those years ago. She believed in me more than I did. She had a heart of gold.”
On December 30, 1999 Shirley married Rev. Gerald Cole of Richland, WA. They served in Senior Adult Ministries at the Hermiston Church of the Nazarene. Again Shirley served in missions in Hermiston. She was on the Missions Council at the Richland Church of the Nazarene, and was a delegate to many Northwest District Church of the Nazarene Assemblies.
Jerry and Shirley loved to travel together. Their travels took them to many destinations in the United States and Canada with their friends Howard and Loretta Slemmer. They enjoyed going to theater productions and Gospel Quartet Events. In 2017, they transitioned their lives to Evergreen Fountains Senior Living Center in Spokane, WA. While living there they enjoyed being involved in the choir, and many other activities.
On October 15, 2016 Michelle married Brian St Peter in Tri-Cities, WA. Brian was a welcome addition to her family. The St. Peter family lived next to the Hodgdon Family for 27 years. Shirley had been Brian’s kindergarten and 3rd grade teacher and remembered his gift of math. She was very proud to call him her son.
Shirley loved to share the gospel with everyone she came into contact with. She loved hearing their stories and sharing her faith. Cindy remembers that one night a gas attendant asked if she was a Christian. She said that she was, and he asked her how many people she had saved. She wisely replied, “I don’t do the saving, Jesus does.”
She was a loving wife to Rev. Jerry Cole. She is survived by daughters Cynthia “Cindy” Hodgdon of Umatilla, OR and Michelle “Shelley” St. Peter and her husband Brian of Spokane, WA; stepchildren Cynthia Thompson, and her husband Rob of Pasadena, MD; Linda Cole of Bangkok, Thailand and Loren Cole of Umatilla, OR; step grandchildren Marielle Kemp and her husband DJ of Severn, MD; Micheal Thompson of Baltimore, MD; great grandchildren Alex and Ava Kemp of Severn, MD; her brother Harold Beggs of Clarkston, WA along with many nieces and nephews.
A celebration of Shirley’s life will be on May 15, 2021 at 11:00 A.M. at the Spokane Valley Church of the Nazarene 15515 E 20th Ave, Spokane Valley, WA 99037. Everyone is welcome.
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