Shirley Ann Paugh's Obituary
Shirley Ann Paugh was born in Southern Iowa in a four room farmhouse on September 30, 1937. The fourth of five children, she was welcomed by parents Robert Brown and Juanita Allen Brown along with sister Patty and brothers Robert and Alan. Brother Stan arrived several years later.
The farmhouse had neither electricity nor running water and was accessed only by dirt roads. Since the closest neighbor was over a half mile away, her first childhood playmate was a black and white collie named Ring.
Horses were a source of great joy to Shirley her entire life, starting with a black Shetland pony named Pearl, then on to an old blind workhorse known as Old Bird, and she graduated to a beautiful Sorrel mare named Babe. She so loved Babe and enjoyed riding with her friends and in parades and ceremonies.
Shirley, always a bright student, attended grade school where there was basically one child for each grade. From 5th to 8th grade her favorite teacher was Wilda Brandon who spurred her interest in reading and helped prepare her for high school where she was always on the honor roll. During high school she enjoyed basketball, cheerleading, flag twirling with the band, and of course horseback riding. In 1955 she graduated in the top 3 at Corydon High out of a class of 55 students.
During her senior year of high school, she was courted by a dashing and handsome young man from the neighboring town of Humeston, Craig Paugh, who played quarterback for the football team while Shirley was a cheerleader for the Corydon Football team. After high school, Shirley attended the American Institute of Business, graduating with a secretarial degree. Shirley then travelled to California and spent the summer with her sister Patty and husband Don. Not long after, Craig followed renting a room from Patty and Don's landlady. During this time they held summer jobs, Shirley as a secretary at a manufacturing plant in Pasadena and Craig at a Glendale gas station.
After returning to Iowa, they were married in September 1956 at Confidence Baptist Church and had the wedding reception at the Brown Farm. The newlyweds then moved into a 3rd floor apartment (w/shared bath down the hall and kitchen across the hall) on the Iowa State campus at Ames, Iowa.
When Craig decided to take a break from college, Shirley and Craig moved down to Des Moines where Shirley got a job as a legal secretary at a law firm with the former Des Moines district attorney and Craig went to work as a draftsman for Pittsburgh Des Moines Steel. Then in mid-1957 the couple decided to move to Marengo, Iowa, where Craig was hired on by Amana Refrigeration in nearby Amana. Son Kevin arrived not long after on November 6, 1957 at St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
In 1960, the young family packed up everything in a 12 foot U-Haul trailer pulled behind a 1958 Chevy Impala and moved to Southern California. Son Boake was born on February 9, 1963, at the Methodist Hospital, Arcadia, CA. Soon after, Craig and Shirley bought their first home in 1963 in a new development in Hacienda Heights, CA. It was a very lucky move. From the roots of Hacienda Heights, Craig and Shirley have had a Family of Friends for over 50 years with whom they've partied, traveled around the globe together, watched all the kids grow up and have children, camped out and traveled Baja in off road vehicles (pounding and eating abalone when they were along the Baja Coast).
Shirley loved being a mom, and loved her two boys dearly all her life. Boake and Kevin were a great source of pride, joy, and love for her. Shirley was always there for the boys in school as a room parent as well as in sports as the team mom. She also loved cheering on her boys in little league, Jr. All American football, and later high school football.
At the tail end of the sixties, Shirley once again entered the workforce at Challenge Cook Brothers as an executive secretary to the president. Going back to work was a tough decision for Shirley. While she loved being there every day with her boys, she did so for the family and to support husband Craig while he was going through college. Challenge Cook was a wonderful experience for Shirley and resulted in many dear friends and colleagues who she held close for years and years.
In 1975, Craig went to work for West Coast Mfg. Co., makers of KEY-BAK, as Chief Engineer and Designer. When the original owner retired in 1985, Craig purchased the company together with co-owner Roy Taylor. Shirley joined the company in 1989, originally as a bookkeeper and later taking over sales. Son, Boake, who has an engineering degree from Cal Poly Pomona, joined the "Chain Gang" team in 1996 and has brought much success to the company. Another prideful joy was when our "adopted" son and Boake's "brother," Mike Winegar, joined the company, first as Plant Manager and later as Vice President. Together, Boake and Mike made Craig and Shirley very proud of KEY-BAK's success. After both Craig and Shirley retired in 2005, an ESOP was formed, which is of great benefit to its loyal employees who are considered as part of the KEY-BAK family.
In 2008, son Kevin and wife Linda encouraged Craig and Shirley to move close to them in San Clemente. They had found a perfect retirement house for them with beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean, Catalina Island, and within sight of their own house. Craig and Shirley loved living in San Clemente and were blessed with wonderful and kind neighbors.
After retirement, Craig and Shirley toured the world. But their best memories may have been touring the U.S. in their motorhome along with Casey Jones and Jack Black, the furry members of the family. They both enjoyed visiting their "Brown Family Heritage Farm" in Iowa, now owned by Troy and Diana Brown. Some of the best memories included numerous trips to Iowa to visit family and host farm parties including the Family of Friends.
The Paugh's have a very strong family unit and have been very fortunate to have had some wonderful family vacations: Turks & Caicos in 2015, camping at Camp James at Kern River in 2016, a Baja cruise in 2017 on the Cruise Ship Miracle, and in 2018 a wonderful family house in Sunriver, Oregon. After Craig's passing Shirley encouraged the family to continue the tradition with an adventurous trip to Costa Rica in 2019 and a closer to home Long Beach staycation during COVID in 2020 - all very wonderful memories.
Shirley is survived by beloved sons and daughters-in-law, Kevin and Linda, Boake and Lisa; her treasured grandchildren, Tyler, David, Kelley, Katie; brother Stan and Vicki Brown, sister-in-law Linda and Clell Bryan; nephews and spouses, Mark and Joyce Brown, Troy and Diana Brown, Kyle and Julie Bryan, Alan and Marina George; nieces and spouses, Kim and Tom Swearingin, Cynthia and Dave Michelsen, Sherri and Terry Stufflebeem, and nephew Matt Brown.
Shirley passed late on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 2020 at her home in San Clemente, California, after a brief illness. She was surrounded by her loving family.
Graveside service will be held at Confidence Cemetery in Confidence, Iowa on Saturday, June 12, 2021 at 1:00 PM.
Following the services, friends and family are invited to Shirley's Celebration of Life at Hotel Rea in Corydon, Iowa from 3:00-5:00 PM on Saturday, June 12, 2021. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations in Shirley's memory to Promise4Paws.org. Online condolences may be shared at www.thomasfh.com or facebook.com/thomasfuneralhome.
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