Shirlee Rae Seward

Shirlee Rae Johnson was born on September 7, 1930 to Dorothy Hayes and Oscar Johnson. She lived with her older siblings, Patty, Ginger and Jimmy in Seattle, Washington, USA. 

The great depression hit the country hard and our family was no exception. Because of this, Shirlee and her older siblings were placed in the Sacred Heart Orphanage at Saint James Cathedral. Shirlee was fostered by many relatives over the next few years until she was able to join her mother and sisters back at home together. 

Shirlee married young to Roy Brown. She and Roy purchased a small log cabin on some wooded land in Woodinville, Washington and started a family. Sadly, she and Roy Brown would eventually divorce. 

The first born was Sherry, then came Tim, Chris, Jodi and Gena. During this time Shirlee started a kennel raising and showing collies professionally. Her kennel was called "Timberon Collies" and was quite successful. 

Shirlee married Oliver "Gene" Seward in 1966 and a couple years later came their baby daughter Gena. Sadly, she and Oliver Seward divorced when their daughter Gena was a small child. 

In 1978 Shirlee traveled to Germany to be with her daughter Jodi who was pregnant with her first child (Michael). This was Shirlee's first trip to Europe and she fell in love with Germany and with traveling, which seemed to put her on a new path in life. 

In the 1980's Shirlee took her 13 year old daughter Gena to Germany where they both stayed with Shirlee's daughter Jodi and her son, Shirlee's grandson, Michael. 

Shirlee stayed in Germany for more than 9 months and never returned to her log cabin in Woodinville or to "Timberon Collies."

For a time in the 1990's Shirlee lived in a large and beautiful house on Capitol Hill in Seattle. She even turned the house into a beautiful bed and breakfast called "Seward House." Later on she made it into a boarding house and even hosted exchange students from Japan! Shirlee's beloved son Chris helped extensively with the renovations for the Capitol Hill house, making it a beautiful home where she loved cooking huge meals and having her children and grandchildren come over for big family dinners. 

The desire for travel never left Shirlee and in the 1990's she had the opportunity to go live and work in Germany, primarily in the area around Kaiserslautern, Germany. She was lucky enough to find civilian employment with the military. She stayed in Germany for a long time and traveled around Europe whenever she could. 

Over the years she hosted many family and friends in Germany, including her daughter Gena and granddaughter Katherine, who payed a visit in 1998, and her grandson Michael who visited in 2000, and her granddaughter Adina, who visited a couple years later. 

Back in 1994, Shirlee even made her first and only trip to Asia. She went to Thailand to visit her daughter Gena, who was an exchange student in Bangkok at the time. Shirlee had the time of her life despite the occasionally rough conditions! 

In the early 2000's Shirlee and her daughter Gena traveled to Turkey, France and Portugal together, sharing a mutual love for travel.

Shirlee finally returned home to Washington State in 2003 and other than some traveling, she lived in her beloved Washington State until she died.

In her last few years of life she was generously cared for by her beloved son Chris and his wife, Bonnie. The family is forever grateful for everything they did. 

After her return to the USA, Shirlee visit Mexico and Hawaii with her generous and beloved niece Barbara. And she loved visiting her niece Barbara in her home in Portland, Oregon. 

During her life, Shirlee truly was an international traveler! 

Shirlee also loved animals, art, reading, flowers, horseback riding, ballet and opera. She had an adventurous spirit and was willing to try new places and new things. She also loved visiting with friends and over the course of her life she had many great friends who she loved who will be fondly remembered and missed by Shirlee's family as nearly all of them preceded her in death. Shirlee's dear friends Judy, Jenny and Matthew will miss her. 

Shirlee was loved by her family and friends and will be deeply missed. She was proceeded in death by two of her beloved children, son Timothy and daughter Sherry; and her beloved siblings Jimmy, Ginger and Patty. Shirlee leaves behind her son Christopher Brown, wife Bonnie, daughter Jodi Johannsen, husband Mark and daughter Gena Seward as well as four grandchildren, Michael Van Horn (Lucy), Katherine Smith (Chris), Adina Pankey(Joe), Max Brown and her five great grandchildren: Echo, Malcolm, Wesley, Renoah and Rose; her sister Maryann and her nephews Walter and Jason and her nieces Barbara, Cindy and Sandy.

Shirlee's memorial was on 11 November 2023 at Unity Church in Lynwood, Washington. It was a small but lovely service with a tribute given in the main chapel by Dana Consuelo, officiant/chaplain, of Unity Church. Per the request in Shirlee's will, two songs were played during the service: "Be Not Afraid" and "Auf Wiedersehen." The first song was solemn while the second song was light-hearted and sung in German, perhaps reflecting the huge impact Germany had on her life. Two of Shirlee's children answered the call for open comments to be made: beloved son Christopher Brown and beloved daughter Gena Seward both took to the podium and told memorable stories about their mother. There were also comments made by guests for which we are grateful. Shirlee's daughter Gena organized the event while daughter Jodi designed and decorated the dining area where everyone had beverages and lunch after the service in the chapel. The decorations, flowers and flyer were all beautiful and Shirlee would have loved them. Son-in-law Mark Johansen made an excellent picture slide show for guests to see images from Shirlee's long life. We are grateful for his help.Granddaughter and Grandson Michael and Katherine helped with serving and cleaning up lunch and their help was greatly appreciated. Friends of Shirlee came as did friends of Shirlee's children. We are thankful for their presence and support. Family also came for the service, some traveling long distances and their efforts to be there were grately appreciated. Family and friends gathered in the dining area for a couple hours to catch up and remember Shirlee. For some people, this had been the first large family gathering since the Covid-19 pandemic that so profoundly touched our lives in 2020 and 2021.

The writers of this tribute, Mrs. Jodi Johansen and Miss Gena Seward wish to extend their gratitude to everyone who came and showed their support and to those who couldn't make it, but showed their support and love in other ways. Thank you. Forever.

"Those we lovedon't go away,They walk beside us every day.Unseen, unheard, but always near,Still loved,Still missed,And very dear."-anonymous