Shirley H. Venier passed away peacefully at Prestige Assisted Living on February 27, 2022. Shirley was born in Denver, Colorado on May 23, 1926 to Merritt and Margaret Howard. She was the oldest of 3 siblings, her brother Dean Howard of Kennewick, WA and her younger brother Bob Howard of Florence, Oregon. She was very close to both and her brother Dean visited on a regular basis until the day she passed. They enjoyed reminiscing about all the good memories that they shared.

Shirley grew up with her family in Colorado, first in Denver and then Boulder until she was a junior in high school. The family moved to Pasco, WA in August 1943 for better job opportunities at Hanford. She attended Pasco High School and graduated from there in 1944. While in high school she worked various jobs. After graduation she was hired at Hanford to work in the Employment Department, a job she loved.  Her job was to sign up employees for their new jobs, many of them young engineers coming to work on the Manhattan Project. As Mom would tell the story, one of those young engineers was her future husband, Dominic Venier. There was an instant attraction when they met. After he asked her out on their first date, that was it. They fell in love and they got married on May 20, 1950 and remained happily married until he passed away in 2006.

Shirley and Dominic had 5 children, Steven, Nancy, Jimmy, David and Mary. The family moved to San Jose, CA in 1956 and raised their family there until they returned to Richland in 1972. While living in Richland, Shirley became very active in the Mental Health support community and was a board member at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital as a representative for families dealing with Mental Illness. She did this in support of their son Steven. She also helped establish a support group, Advocates for the Mentally Ill.

Shirley was a long time member of Christ the King Catholic Church. She and her husband were married there as was her daughter and granddaughter…3 generations. She was a devoted Catholic and had a very strong faith.

Above all, Shirley was a wonderful Mother, grandmother and sister and a devoted wife. She was always there for her family, encouraging, supporting and loving them in every way. She was delighted when grandchildren arrived on the scene, always taking an active interest in their lives, always there with kind words, love and support. In her final years she was blessed with great grandchildren which gave her much joy. She was very close to and loved her extended family. She will be greatly missed.

Shirley was preceded in death by her husband Dominic, her son Jimmy, and her son Steven. She is survived by her daughter Nancy Overturf (Doug), her son David Venier (Patty), her daughter Mary Cantrell  (Dale), her brothers Dean and Bob Howard, grandchildren Andrea Doyle (Brian), Jennifer Bronner (Aaron), Allan Cantrell, Shannon Cantrell, Taylor Richardson(Austin), Anthony Venier (Autumn) , and great grandchildren Claire, Kate, Reagan, Avery, Bruce, Brody and Lukas.

We love you Mom, Grandma, GG