Shirley Jean (LaTourrette) Graham was born to the late Emery “Larry” and Carrie LaTourrette on Jan. 9, 1929, in Oakland, California. As a child, Shirley lived in Miami, Arizona, California, and North Dakota. After graduating from Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, California, she moved to Phoenix, Arizona, and enrolled in the Engineering School of Phoenix College.
In 1948 she attended a Phoenix Senators baseball game and met her one and only love, Eddie Graham. Eddie and Shirley soon married, started a family, and moved to Ray, Arizona, before eventually settling in Winkelman, Arizona.
A whiz at numbers, Shirley began her successful 25+ year banking career with Valley National Bank as a bookkeeper and eventually retired as the Hayden location’s branch manager in 1988. A few years later she relocated to Mesa, Arizona, and joined Lowell Elementary School in Mesa, Arizona, as a loyal classroom volunteer for over 15 years. During her retirement she also enjoyed traveling the world, making road trips, spending time with her family, reading mystery novels, completing puzzles of all types, and attending baseball games at every opportunity.
Shirley passed away peacefully on July 21, 2024. She is survived by her children, Ed (Jeannette), Jo (Mike) Magoon, Danny (Lisa); Pat May, and Michelle (David) Cruz; her grandchildren, JJ (Amy) Reese, Daniel (Lorraine) Reese, Melissa (Adam) Wright, Jordan May, Colby May, Ian May, Aaron May, Quentin May, Justine Cruz, Juliane Cruz, Christiana Cruz, and David “Boy” Cruz; eight great-grandchildren, two great-great-grandchildren, her sister-in-law, Muriel (“Mimi”) LaTourrette, and a host of nieces and nephews.
In addition to her parents, Shirley was preceded in death by her husband, Eddie; siblings, Jacqueline (Dan) Foley, Katharine LaTourrette, and James LaTourrette; grandson, Justin Michael Reese; and son-in-law, Roshon May.
Services will be held on Aug. 20 at Griffith Mortuary, 101 Johnston Rd., Kearny, beginning with visitation at 9 a.m. and funeral services at 9:30 a.m. Interment will follow at 1 p.m. at the Greenwood Memory Lawn Cemetery, 2300 W. Van Buren, Phoenix, AZ 85009.