Dec. 31, 1940 – July 30, 2016
Marjorie L. Shilts, 75, of Sweet Home died July 30, 2016 at Samaritan Evergreen Hospice House.
She was born Dec. 31, 1940 in Oregon City to Wayne and Margaret (Armstrong) Hilton.
She attended grade school at Scotts Mills and high school in Silverton. She enjoyed riding horses and being part of the Friends Church Youth Group. Her future husband, Wayne Shilts, was part of this youth group. She graduated from Nestucca High School in Cloverdale in 1959.
She worked for a short time for a car insurance company in Salem.
The Shiltses were married Oct. 1, 1960 in the Scotts Mills Friends Church. They started their married life in Glide, where Mr. Shilts worked as an engineer for the U.S. Forest Service. Sons Kevin (1961) and Bryan (1963) were born there. In 1966 they moved to Steamboat Ranger Station, where son Craig was born in 1968.
Mrs. Shilts became a full-time housewife and enjoyed living at the remote ranger station. The only difficult times were when they would lose electrical power, sometimes for over a week during winter snowstorms. She enjoyed the culture of the remote ranger station life.
In 1970 the family moved to Detroit Ranger Station, then to Sweet Home in 1973, when Mr. Shilts became an engineering projects manager until his retirement in 1997.
Mrs. Shilts joined the Sweet Home Evangelical Church in the early 1980s. She participated in the church choir and helped on the Mission Committee. She was a devoted mother, whose life focus was the support of all family members and her husband’s part time engineering consulting work after his 1997 retirement. She loved her grandkids. After raising three boys, she finally got two granddaughters and one grandson to spoil.
Holidays, birthday parties, and making and decorating cupcakes and Easter eggs were the most memorable events. She loved vacationing at the coast and eating crab sandwiches at Moe’s. Her baked beans were famous. She prepared them for holiday dinners and summer picnics. She enjoyed doing jumbles and crossword and number puzzles in the paper each day.
Mrs. Shilts is survived by her husband Wayne; sons Kevin, Bryan and Craig; three grandchildren; and brother Mike Hilton.
She was preceded in death by her parents Wayne and Margaret Hilton and sister Carleen Hilton.
Viewing will be 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 3, at Sweet Home Funeral Chapel. A funeral service is planned for 11 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 4, at Sweet Home Evangelical Church. Graveside service will be 3 p.m. at Maplewood Pioneer Cemetery in Scotts Mills.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made in her name to the American Diabetes Association.
Sweet Home Funeral Chapel is handling the arrangements.