May 15, 1929 - Jan. 23, 2026
BURLEY – Shirley Ann Fields Wilcox, age 96, passed away peacefully on January 23, 2026, in Burley, Idaho, returning to her heavenly home after a valiant effort against Alzheimer’s dementia. A beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, devoted friend and friendly person to all, Shirley lived a long and vibrant life marked by joy, resilience, service, and deep devotion to her family and faith. She was as sweet and warm as they come. She is deeply missed.
Born on May 15, 1929, in the historic mining town of Jerome, Arizona, Shirley spent her early years with her mother, Laura, and father, Roy Fields, in Jerome and Forbestown, California. Shirley and her mother eventually parted ways with Roy and made their way back to Texas with Laura’s family and eventually back to Jerome where Laura married Shirley’s stepfather, George Schade.
Shirley later attended North High School in Phoenix where George and Laura eventually took over the Schade family business, Schade Refrigerated Lines. She also pursued higher education at the University of Arizona for two years, where she had too much fun to be a great student. She eventually started work at the accounting department at Southwest Airways in San Francisco in the early post-WWII era.
In San Francisco, Shirley met a handsome, blue-eyed young man named Lewis Wayne Wilcox. They soon fell in love and were married June 15, 1950, on a sweltering summer day in Phoenix. Shirley and Lewis settled into the family business (Schade Refrigerated Lines) and were blessed with two children, Larry and LeAnn.
Shirley and Lewis raised their family in Phoenix surrounded by family and wonderful life-long friends. They spent many a weekend at the valley’s reservoirs and often escaped to the mountains of Arizona with extended family to camp, boat, and fish. After Lewis retired, Shirley and Lewis moved to a cabin they built in Pine, Arizona, where they lived happily for many years. They also traveled regularly and widely across the US in their RV or in Lewis’s airplane, and with lifelong friends the Mosley's (among many others). In their later years, Shirley and Lewis lived in Mesa, Scottsdale, and Pine Top, Arizona, and eventually in Burley, Idaho.
Shirley was an organized dynamo and an endlessly positive person with a warm and welcoming spirit, eager to give warm hugs. She was known by loved ones for her happy-go-lucky attitude, bubbly personality, and quick wit, qualities that endeared her to all who knew her. She had an infectious laugh and was full of fun quips she gleaned from, and improvised on, from her mother.
In 1969, Shirley and her family converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Her faith was a guiding force throughout her life and provided a strong spiritual foundation as a devoted follower of Jesus Christ. She and Lewis served three missions for the Church; at the John Johnson farm in Ohio, and two family history missions in Salt Lake City, Utah. She remained an active member in her church community. Shirley spear-headed stake girls camps, women's retreats, and offered service to many.
We will cherish Shirley’s bright smile, quick wit, and devotion to her family. A voracious reader on many subjects, Shirley was always reading something and she shared her love of books with her children and grandkids. Shirley and Lewis never missed a grandchild’s play or sports event; would be there to watch grandkids open presents Christmas morning, and offered selfless aid to their family whenever possible – whatever the need, time of day, or where. Shirley put her whole heart and energies into everything she put her mind to do, with enthusiasm, making the world a better place for those around her.
She loved to host parties, play games, and welcome friends and family to her home. She always had cookies in the cookie jar and candy dishes all over the house filled with her favorite treats for her guests (and a piece of Chiclet gum to share from her purse). Her life was a testament that loving others is the greatest gift one can give.
Shirley Ann Wilcox leaves behind a legacy defined by love and service, built around her family and devoted husband of 75 years, Lewis Wayne Wilcox. Together, they modeled to their posterity an ideal marriage and family rooted in love and companionship.
She is survived by her husband, Lewis Wilcox; daughter, LeAnn Oster (Tom); daughter-in-law, Connie Wilcox (late son Larry Wilcox); grandchildren, Christine Pickup (Westy), Steve Wilcox (Sasha), Mike Wilcox (Heidi), Kim Denny (George), and Melissa West (Jeff); as well as twelve great-grandchildren, Bryant, Addie, Spencer, Norah, Ellie, Alyse, Axel, Wren, Ridge, Brighton, Willa, and Ryder.
Shirley was preceded in death by her son, Larry Wilcox; mother, Laura Schade; and stepfather, George Schade.
Our family would like to thank Dr. Tyson Steel, Linda Woodbury and the staff at Home and Heart Assisted Living, and Horizon Hospice, for the kind and tender care they gave to Shirley in her final months.
A graveside service and burial will take place at Greenwood Memorial Lawn in Phoenix, Arizona.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the care of Rasmussen-Wilson Funeral Home of Burley.
