<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/4/1617825802908.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Eileen Shirley, age 86, of North Platte, Nebraska passed away at Great Plains&nbsp;Health on April 5, 2021. Eileen was born March 31, 1935, to Harold and Dorothea (Loghry) Dodson on the family farm near Maywood, Nebraska.&nbsp; She grew up in the Maywood area and&nbsp;graduated from high school, the Nebraska School of Agriculture in&nbsp;Curtis, in 1952. On August 9, 1953, Eileen married Vernon Manley 'Sonny' Shirley at Curtis, Nebraska and they lived on the farm south of town and farmed until 1962&nbsp;when they moved into Curtis. They had four children, Kent, Douglas,&nbsp;Denise and Deanna, and when Denise was baptized they too were baptized&nbsp;into the Methodist Church at Curtis. Sonny and Eileen were together for&nbsp;nearly 64 years when he died in 2017. In 1967, the Shirley family moved to North Platte, Nebraska and Eileen went to work&nbsp;for the North Platte Public Schools in the cafeteria. She became the&nbsp;manager at Madison Junior High and the north side elementary grade&nbsp;schools, after 17 years as manager and 22 years in the system, Eileen&nbsp;retired in the early '80's. Eileen used to do lots of gardening and canning when they lived on Shirley Road.&nbsp; She loved baking and decorating cakes for birthdays, weddings, anniversaries and other occasions then enjoyed delivering them. Sonny and Eileen loved being together, dancing, camping and fishing, and&nbsp;she could out-fish Sonny any day.&nbsp; They were active, longtime members of&nbsp;the Elks Lodge #985, Winter Dance Club, and First United Methodist&nbsp;Church and volunteered for R.S.V.P.&nbsp; Eileen was also a member of Does&nbsp;Drove #103, where she served as chaplain for a few years, and AARP. Along with her husband, Eileen was preceded in death by their son, Doug; her sister, Phyllis and husband, Bud Mayfield; brother, Duane Dodson; sons-in-law, Chris Nelsen and Russell Smiley; and her parents, Harold and Dorothea Dodson. Eileen is survived by her children, Kent (Christy) Shirley of North Platte, Nebraska, Denise (Ryne) Norton of Curtis, Nebraska and Deanna (Stuart Nicholas)&nbsp;MacMillan of Omaha, Nebraska; grandchildren, Brian (Chelsea) Reese, Jennifer&nbsp;(James) Snook, Tyler Reese, Kane (Ann) Shirley, Aspen Shirley, Jeremiah&nbsp;(Matisse) Klatt, Ethan Norton, Evan (Hollie) Norton, and Jesse,&nbsp;Nicholas, Jordan, Johna MacMillan; great-grandchildren,&nbsp;Ciara MacMillan, Jacoby, Jacek and Jiles Snook, Batie and Crea Reese, Korbin and Krew&nbsp;Shirley, and Marek Klatt; sister-in-law, Beverly Dodson of Maywood, Nebraska; and&nbsp;&nbsp;many other family members. Funeral service will be 10 a.m. on Monday, April 12, 2021, at First United Methodist Church with Rev. Dr. Douglas A. Delp officiating.&nbsp; Burial will follow in the Maywood Cemetery. Visitation is 1-6 p.m. Sunday with family greeting from 4-6 p.m. at Odean Colonial Chapel at C &amp; Sycamore in North Platte, which is in charge of arrangements.&nbsp; Online condolences may&nbsp;be shared at odeanchapel.com.&nbsp; In lieu of flowers, memorials are to the&nbsp;Maywood Cemetery.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Eileen Shirley (1935-2021)