Shirley Anne Grannis

Shirley Grannis of Mountain View-Denver, Colorado died peacefully on Monday April 28, 2014. The cause of death was kidney disease. Shirley was born on January 14, 1930 and raised in Scott Plains, New Jersey. She was the daughter of Chester Reeve Sours and Thelma Lillian Van Doren. Her stepmother was Elida Townley Sours and her stepfather was George Robert Fissler. Her parents last resided in Sarasota and Siesta Key, Florida. Shirley lived all over the United States including Tucson, Arizona; Fairfield/Stratford, Connecticut; Wellesley, Massachusetts; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Spokane, Washington; and New York, New York Shirley graduated from Scotch Plains High School in Fanwood, New Jersey in 1947. She attended Parsons School of Design in Manhattan and designed sportswear, shoes, and handbags, working for several fashion firms in New York during the early 1950's. In the 1960's she designed children's shoes for Stride Rite of Boston while she was raising her children. In the 1970's she worked for the Van Doren Nursing Home of Bridgeport, Connecticut and in the 1980's Sikorsky Aircraft of Stratford, Connecticut. She married Robert Allen Grannis of Clatskanie Oregon in 1951. They retired to Tucson, Arizona in 1992. They were married for 54 years until Bob died in 2005. Shirley loved poetry, music, art and reading. She was an avid gardener who truly had a green thumb. She played golf, tennis and bridge; was a hospital volunteer, and was always caring for elderly people in her own private and special way. She was on the Board of the Fairfield Connecticut Historical Society and Visiting Nurses Association. More than anything, she was a loving mother who showered her children with every act of caring and nurturing possible. She adored all of her grandchildren. She was a devoted wife and a friend to many both old and young throughout her life, right through to its end. Four children and six grandchildren survive her: son Peter Grannis and wife Anne Rice of Littleton, Colorado; daughter Sarah and husband William Shoffler of Doylestown, Pennsylvania; Jonathon and wife Monica Grannis of Englewood, Colorado; and Matthew Grannis of Tucson, Arizona. Her grandchildren are Eryn and Molly Grannis; Alex and Emma Grannis; and John Robert and Annie Shoffler. There are many cousins and nieces. A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday July 26th at 2:30 pm, reception following Ken Caryl Ranch House, 7676 South Continental Divide Road, Littleton, Colorado 80127. Contact Peter Grannis for more information at 303-332-8765. A Memorial Service and Interment and Reception, will be on Tuesday July 29th at 10:00 am Casas Adobes UCC Church, 6801 North Oracle Road, Tucson, Arizona 85704. Please contact Sarah Shoffler for information at 215-740-4034. Donations can be made to the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, 3003 South Country Club Road, Tucson, Arizona 85713, 520-622-0525.