Shirley Colleen Pickens

Shirley Colleen Pickens, 48, of La Grande, died April 25 at a local care center in La Grande after a long struggle with a brain tumor. Her memorial service will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday at Loveland Funeral Chapel. Following the service, there will be a gathering of family and friends for a meal at the Ag Center in Island City.

Shirley was born May 29, 1962, in Albuquerque, N.M. She grew up in Milwaukie where she attended Rex Putnam High School before moving to La Grande. She finished high school in La Grande and later married Kevin Kuffler. They divorced, and she moved to Clovis, N.M., where she graduated from Vogue Beauty College and started her lifelong career as a beautician. More recently, she owned her own shop, Hair It Is, in La Grande. She married Rick Spray in 2002, and they later divorced.

She loved to cook and bake and provided many holiday meals for those she knew would be lonely and alone. She was a pie baker and loved cooking for family and friends. She was an accomplished musician and played fiddle, mandolin and guitar with her father and others. She loved to sing. She enjoyed snowmobiling, skiing, racquetball and spending time with her dog. She never obtained her pilot's license, but loved flying and worked toward that goal. She enjoyed rug-making and taught others how to do it too.

She is survived by her two children, Jennifer Spray of Portland and John Spray of La Grande; mother and step-father, David and Brenda Hickey of La Grande; brothers, Will Pickens and his wife, Holly, of Gaston, Kirk Pickens and his wife, Beverly, of Elgin, Stan Hickey of La Grande and Jason Hickey; sisters, Deena Witherspoon and her husband, Charles, of Christmas Valley and Kristen Hickey. She has numerous aunts, uncles and nieces and nephews.

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