Shirley Gillies

Gillies

Shirley Marguerite Gillies

Dec. 27, 1930 – Feb. 1, 2019

Shirley was born December 27, 1930 to Thomas Sylvester Rieder and Sophia (Rudnick) Rieder at Anamoose, North Dakota, the second of four daughters in their family. Her parents farmed in that area on land homesteaded by her grandparents who came to North Dakota from Germany in the late 1800s. She attended high

school in Anamoose, and upon graduation went on to nursing school at the Sisters of St. Francis School of Nursing at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Minot, North Dakota. Fol-

lowing her graduation, she was married to Warren Patrick Gillies of Pembina, North Dakota in September of 1951. Together they owned and operated the Coast to Coast Hardware Store in Rugby, North Dakota throughout the 1950s and 1960s. They were active members of Little Flower Catholic Church, and she also participated in the local Homemaker’s and Women’s Clubs during their time in Rugby. They moved to Harrison, Arkansas in January of 1970 and operated the Coast to Coast Store there for several years, until she joined the Northwest Arkansas Area Agency on Aging as a home-visit nurse, working in that capacity for 28 years. In retirement, she and Warren enjoyed their return trips to North Dakota to visit their family and friends throughout the state. They were very active members of Mary, Mother of God Catholic Church in Harrison (especially of the choir there), avid gardeners, and were always pleased to welcome their large circle of friends into their home for

wonderful meals and visits. Her husband of 52 years, Warren, passed away in Harrison in 2003.

She was also preceded in death by her parents, and by her older sister and brother in law Connie and Brian Hayden.

She is survived by her four children: son Dr. George Gillies, his wife Melanie and their daughter Olivia of Charlottesville, Virginia; son James Gillies of Overland Park, Kansas; daughter Sherry and her husband Lt. Col. William McConnell of Dardanelle, Arkansas; and son Scott Gillies and his children Christian and Alexander of Harrison, Arkansas. She is also survived by her sisters Mary (George) Vanderhoff and family of Anoka, Minnesota; Patricia (Thomas) Alme and family of Balfour, North

Dakota; and many cousins, nephews and nieces.

Interment of the remains will take place in Maplewood Cemetery in Harrison, with a Memorial Service at Mary, Mother of God Church to be held at a later date.