Jean May (Bolinger) Shields March 25, 1930 - December 6, 2019
Jean May (Bolinger) Shields, 89, of Eatonville, Wash., passed away on December 6, 2019 in Puyallup, Wash. Jean was born on March 25, 1930 in Mineral, Wash., to Mauris and Bertha (Keating) Bolinger. She attended Mineral Grade School, and graduated from Morton High School in Morton, Wash., in 1949. She married C. Earl Shields in Morton on August 11, 1950. They moved to Bandon, Ore., where their daughters, Erla Jean and Linda Faye, were born. The family then moved to California, where their sons, Dale Lynn, Arne Lynn, and John Howard were born. After Earl’s death on November 4, 1966, Jean returned to Mineral with her four children. She remained in Mineral until moving in with Linda on February 2, 2014, in Eatonville, Wash.
Jean was the Mineral Correspondent, and wrote a weekly column for the Morton Journal (now the East County Journal) for 37 years. She always enjoyed the connection she had with the people of the town. She wrote a book about her life entitled “Here A Little and There A Little.” She was an avid fisherman, both at Mineral Lake and Alder Lake, and she loved to hike the hills around Mineral. She collected and recycled aluminum cans and newspapers, picked and sold ferns, sallow, pine cones and moss, picked blueberries, and worked as a caregiver for several local residents. At one time she knew everyone in town, and everyone knew her.
Jean served as a Sunday School teacher, Missionette leader, church secretary & treasurer, confidante, advisor, and friend. She loved to tell stories about her life, she enjoyed gardening, and loved sharing her quick wit and great sense of humor. Jean was always helping others in one way or another.
Jean was preceded in death by her husband, Earl Shields; infant son, Dale; sister, Eleanor Ann Bolinger; infant grandchildren, Kristina Jean Gardino and Jeremiah Grant Coleman; her parents, Mauris and Bertha Bolinger; and sons-in-law, Frank Gardino and Tony Coleman.
She is survived by her daughters Erla Coleman and Linda Gardino (John) Burns; sons, Arne (Patti Curtis) Shields and John (Carrie) Shields; nine grandchildren, Christina (Glen) Grzechowiak, Cassie Coleman, Louis (Jennie) Gardino, Earl “Duke” Gardino, Levi Shields, Janae Gabbard-Shields, Melina Gabbard-Shields, Kahlia (Damon) Hopkins, and Guerrin (Julianne) Gabbard; nine great-grandchildren, Gavin Gardino, Lily Smith, Bryson Shaw, Aiden Shaw, MaKayla Shaw, Caleb Shaw, McKenzie Shaw, Troy Gabbard, and Amber Gabbard.
The funeral service will begin at 1 PM on Saturday, January 4, 2020, at Neighborhood Christian Center in Mineral. Interment will follow at Mineral Cemetery. Snacks and refreshments will be available following the service and interment in the church hall for those wishing to visit and share memories of Jean.
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