Shirley A. (Waterman) Harris

Shirley A. (Waterman) Harris began her greatest adventure on August 6, 2024, at her home in Springfield, Illinois. She was born on November 13, 1929, to Raymond and Goldie (Durbin) Waterman, in Taylorville, Illinois. Shirley attended Meader Country School and St. Mary’s Elementary School until 8th grade and Sacred Heart Academy as a boarding student. She graduated in 1947. She went on to attend Quincy College where she met the love of her life, Walter C. Harris. They married on October 29, 1949, and shared 59 years together. Shirley attended Mundelein University and received her bachelor’s degree and later received her master’s degree in Education from Sangamon State University/UIS.

A lifelong educator, Shirley taught every grade in elementary and high schools from Illinois to California and back again throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Her first teaching assignment was a classroom of 42 seven year olds, the baby boomers. She promised herself she would know each of their names by the end of that first week, and she did. In 1973, after 16 years of teaching, the family moved to Springfield. Shirley’s career at the Illinois State Board of Education began and continued until her retirement in 1991. During her tenure at ISBE, Shirley's involvement in the local union began. She was appointed secretary at the first union meeting she attended and rose through the ranks. Shirley was elected president of IFSOE Local 3236 by her peers numerous times and was quick to remind us that she was the first woman elected as president. She often told the story of picketing alongside her union brothers and sisters for fair wages and benefits. Shirley refused to cross that picket line at all costs and nearly landed in jail but ended up back at the bargaining table and settled the contract. In 1976, she co-authored her first book, The Waterman-Hancock Family History. It was the beginning of a love affair with genealogy. Shirley penned three more books about her family’s history all of which you can find in your local library.

Upon retirement in 1991, Shirley and Walter traveled and spent many cold Illinois winters in sunny Florida. She loved learning, was an avid reader and a history buff. Her day began with a strong cup of coffee, the morning paper, and a Sudoku or word puzzle to keep her mind sharp. It worked. Shirley loved to garden, write letters, poems or stories, sew, and play the guitar or violin. She always had a project in the works typically spread over the dining room table. She quilted more than 50 quilts for family and friends. Shirley could out fish Walter and her sons and could tell you exactly how much her fish weighed in any photo she shared. As she was a great fisherman, the fish got bigger with each telling. In 2001, Shirley and Walter became members of the Illinois WWII Veterans Memorial Committee. They spent the next three years attending meetings, researching battle sites for “Walter’s Walls,” and raising money to fund the Memorial. There they met John Carrigan, whose mother and Walter taught together, and who quickly became their other son. They attended the dedication of the WWII Memorial together on December 4, 2004. Shirley served as the Veteran’s Story Editor for many years ensuring that Illinois WWII Veterans and their oral histories were preserved and honored on the Memorial’s website and the Library of Congress.

Shirley’s passion was her family. She loved a good family reunion having attended her first in 1930 where she was crowned the youngest member of her family at the time. She knew her great-grandfather, George Taylor Hancock, the last living Civil War veteran in Illinois, and could trace the roots of her family back 14 generations. She was always happy to share the details of the life and times of a particular family member and often did just that. Her ability to recount stories of her family, events and life was a source of great joy to her and all who knew and loved her.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Walter; a son, Jeffrey; her favorite grandson, Zachary; her parents, Raymond & Goldie; sister, Lala; and five brothers, Richard, Dale, Mike, Frank, and John.

Shirley is survived by The Group: her four children, David (wife, Margie), Kevin (wife, Karen), Marianne Harris and Cecilia (husband, David Wesselman), all of Springfield; grandchildren, Kelly Harris Perin (husband, Zachary) of Durham, NC, Brendan Harris of Springfield, Jesse McCarrel (wife, Jennifer) of Hope Mills, NC, Nicholas Harris (wife, Whitney) of LaCenter, WA, Collin Harris (wife, Faith), of Portland, OR, Jeremy Tumulty of Springfield, and Erin Alton (husband, Andrew) of Cantrall; eight great-grandchildren, Ella, Moses, Mille, Eli, Conner, Lincoln, Beckett and Mason; sisters, Therese, Marjory, Carol and Dorothy; brother, Vic, (wife, Paula); and many, many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Cremation will be provided by Butler Cremation & Tribute Center prior to ceremonies

Shirley’s family will receive friends for a memorial gathering beginning at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 17, 2024, at Butler Funeral Home, 900 S. 6th St., Springfield. A memorial ceremony will be held at 11:00 a.m. with Rev. Zach Samples, officiating.

Graveside services will be held at Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, following the memorial ceremony.

The family asks that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made to the Zachary Ryan Harris Foundation, Inc., 8815 Curtis Avenue, Portland, OR, or online at zrhfoundation.org.