Shirley Larson

Shirley Suzanne was born to Roy and Alice Kieft on September 10, 1926, in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She attended nursing school and worked at Presbyterian Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. There she met the love of her life, Parl Larson, who was attending dental school at the University of Illinois. After they married, they moved to Phoenix where Parl practiced dentistry. They retired to the Mountain in 1986. She shared her time, talents and organizational skills with many charitable causes including volunteering with the LDS Church's social services where she helped in programs assisting Native American children, and single mothers. She served in the PTA of her children's elementary school as president, also assisting teachers and the nurse at the school. She blended the efforts of the Red Cross and LDS Social Services to create a bereavement booklet, and received recognition for providing assistance to those affected by the big 1978 and 1980 floods in Phoenix. After moving to the Mountain, she worked in the Navapache (now) Summit Hospital Auxiliary to create crafts for sale in the hospital's gift shop to raise scholarship funds for local students to further their medical education. A faithful Christian, she had various LDS church callings. She spent years of service helping her husband lead the German Shorthair Pointer Club of America (GSPCA), especially in organizing national field trials. Through her service over the years, she formed many treasured friendships that were developed because of their association with and commitment to the GSPCA. Shirley died at home in Lakeside on June 18, 2015. She is survived by her children, sons: Jeff (Jennifer) and Greg (Ruthie); daughters Debbie (Rob) Romney, Mindy (Mike) Call, Terri (Denis) Howe, and Suzi (Kory) Hall; brother Doug Kieft, and sister-in-law Joye Smith. Shirley and Parl cherish their posterity of 37 grandchildren and 81 great-grandchildren. Funeral services will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 27, at the Woodland Lake Ward Chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 4075 Buck Springs Road, in Pinetop, where a visitation will begin one hour prior. Interment will follow at the Lakeside Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations to the LDS Philanthropies Perpetual Education Fund. Donations can be mailed to P O Box 2290, Lakeside, AZ, 85929, or made online at https//www.ldsphilanthropies.org/perpetual-education-fund.html. The family would like to especially thank the nurses and staff at Summit Hospital for their kind and loving care, Hospice Compassus, and the many family members, friends and church members for their loving services and concern.