Paula H. Shirley

Paula H. Shirley passed away peacefully at the age of 87 at her daughter’s home in Nephi from causes incident to age on February 28, 2026 surrounded by family, leaving behind a legacy of faith, devotion, and enduring love for her family.

Paula, born to Prescott and Sarah Hardy on September 3, 1938, was raised in Granger, UT. She was the oldest of eight children. From an early age, she learned to work hard and developed skills which she used all her life. These included leadership, organizational, and homemaking skills.

Paula graduated from Cyprus High School and Brigham Young University. She met her eternal companion her first day at BYU in September 1956. Theirs was a beautiful love story. They wrote to each other while Lee served an LDS mission to Brazil. They were engaged the day of his missionary report in August 1959. They were married in the Salt Lake City Temple on June 6, 1960 for time and all eternity, the day after she graduated from BYU.

Paula was a hard worker and began her career as a PE teacher at Ben Lomond High School. While raising her family, she worked as a substitute teacher, head secretary at Weber High School, and later as an office manager for an orthodontist.

After retirement, Paula volunteered at the Bear River Bird Refuge and Ogden Nature Center with her husband Lee. She also performed with a women’s singing group providing service to the community,

As a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she served in numerous callings throughout the years in Primary, Young Women, and Relief Society, as well as callings as pianist, chorister, choir director, den mother and temple worker. Her favorite calling was a mother education teacher in Relief Society. Her testimony was reflected in the quiet, consistent way she lived the gospel.

Paula was a loving and devoted wife, mother, and grandmother creating a home and legacy of love and faith.

She wrote in her journal in 1999 that she would like to be remembered for “being kind to people and treating them with respect.”

Paula loved participating in sports, time outdoors, playing games with friends and family, and watching BYU sports.

She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Kenneth Lee Shirley (January 2017). She is survived by her four children Tammy (Ken) Richards, Cameron (Jenni) Shirley, Gwen (Karl)

Merkley, and Kristi (Jarrod) Cook, her 20 grandchildren, 29 great-grandchildren with 2 on the way, as well as her siblings and their spouses.

Funeral services will be Saturday, March 7 at 11:30 am at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints at 770 E 2100 N in North Ogden with visitation from 9:30-11:15 prior to these services. Burial will be at the Ben Lomond Cemetery in North Ogden.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to your favorite charity.