Shirley Grace Claiborn

Shirley Claiborn passed away peacefully and surrounded by family members on October 5, 2025 in Logan, Utah. She was 91 years of age. Shirley was born in Kimberly, Idaho where she lived her early years on a farm along with her parents and her six siblings. Tragedy struck her family early on, and she would lose her mother when she was only six years old. Her father remarried but then he passed away six years later. Shirley, three siblings, and six step-siblings were raised by her stepmother, a hard-working and devout Christian woman. While she was in high school, she met Edward Claiborn. They dated all the rest of their high school days and married when she graduated from Kimberly High School in 1952. Shirley and Ed moved to Moscow, Idaho so he could attend the University of Idaho, complete a degree in business and obtain a reserve commission in the Air Force. While Ed completed his education, Shirley worked as a secretary in the Air Force ROTC program.

Shirley and Ed moved to Texas so that Ed could complete pilot training. They subsequently moved to Princeton for Ed’s graduate studies, then on to the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, where they stayed for fourteen years. During eight of those years, Shirley worked as a loan counselor at a nearby credit union.

In 1977, Shirley and Ed moved to the Bay Area in California and, with both daughters grown, Shirley was able to pursue college studies, twenty-five years after graduating from high school! She earned her A.S. degree in General Business in May of 1980 from Indian Valley College.

In 1981 Ed retired from the Air Force, and his next job took them to Lexington, VA so he could teach at Virginia Military Institute. They joined the Lexington Presbyterian Church and became active in the church. Shirley was very active in the Presbyterian Women’s Circle and the Women’s Coordinating Team, and pursued Bible studies for years. She was honored with an honorary life membership in the Lexington Presbyterian Women.

While they were in Lexington, Shirley took classes at Mary Baldwin University in Staunton, VA, and then enrolled in Hollins University in Roanoke. She earned her B.A. degree in Economics in 1993, at the age of 59.

Shirley was very creative, and her interests included working in oil paints and pastels, flower arranging, and gardening. She was a wonderful gardener and her friends and guests always enjoyed her beautiful lawns and gardens. She was an active member in the Lexington Garden Club, and in the Rockbridge Arts Guild, and had her own show at the Lexington Golf and Country Club.

In 2017, Shirley and Ed left Lexington and moved to Logan, Utah to be closer to their daughters, one of which lives in Logan and the other in Idaho.

Shirley was preceded in death by her husband, Edward Claiborn, who passed in 2019; her parents, William Frederick and Louie Victoria Mason; and six siblings. She is survived by her daughters: Kelley Fallin and Candis Claiborn; two grandchildren: Megan Fallin and Wesley Fallin; and a great grandson, Wylder Larsen.

A service to celebrate Shirley’s life will be held at a later date, to be announced.