Obituary of Shirley Ann Roach

Shirley Roach, 85, passed away peacefully on June 23^rd, 2021 in her home after a short battle with cancer. 

 

She was born January 30, 1936, in Fargo, North Dakota, to Leon E. and Margareth (Spiesz) Peterson. She met her longtime friend and love, Enoch B. Roach, at a fire hall dance in Oxon Hill, Maryland. They remained together for the next 52 years, raising a family, playing cards, bowling, traveling, eating out, and generally annoying each other. He preceded her in death on August 1, 2018.

 

Shirley was fun to be around and packed a lot of life into her 85 years. She loved to tell people how old she was just to watch their surprise, and they usually were! She lived in eight states – North Dakota, Washington, Oregon, California, Virginia, Maryland, Arizona, and Nevada – and Washington, D.C., and loved to recount them for you. Her easy-going, no-nonsense personality made it easy for her to pick up friends wherever she lived.

 

She loved to bowl and joined her first league when she was 18. Her highest set was 643 and she was still winning tournaments up until she retired her bowling shoes at 84. She sat on many boards for the Women’s International Bowling Congress and was an officer for various leagues for many years. She loved playing games, especially cards, and always carried a deck of cards and a pad of paper to keep score. If you were playing cards with Shirley, she was absolutely keeping score.

 

She also loved to work. Her first job, at the age of 16, was waiting tables at the restaurant where her mother was the cook. After that, she worked various jobs, including operating a sno-cone booth at a carnival, stenographer, and assistant manager. 

 

On February 6, 1960, she started a job as a legal secretary and worked in that field until 2000. She began preparing taxes for H&R Block in 1986. When she decided she had enough corporate life, she and a dear colleague decided to go rogue and do their own thing. How many women open their very first brick-and-mortar business at 78? Shirley Roach sure did!

 

She was very involved with the Pahrump Senior Center, and the experiences and friendships forged there were very near and dear to her heart. She enjoyed being on the center’s board of directors, playing cards, having lunch, and hanging out there with her friends.  

 

Mostly, Shirley loved her family, and they loved her right back. She will be greatly missed. She is survived by two daughters, Marie Bittinger (Mike) and Teri Carter Beahm; her stepchildren, Cynthia Kissenburger and Roland Roach (Beth); her grandchildren, Lillie, Zacharia, and Michael “Jake” Smith; Kurtis, Kenny and Krystle Kissenburger; Kristopher Roach; Kori Burcham; and Keri Legrand. She is also survived by many great-grandchildren, whom she adored.

 

In addition to her husband and parents, she was preceded in death by two sons, Michael James Carter and Enoch Russell “Nocky” Roach; and one grandson, Marcus Roach.

 

Please join us in celebrating Shirley’s life at either of the following services.  On July 11^th, 2021 at 3:00 pm, St. Johns Lutheran Church, 300 West Maple Road, Linthicum Heights, MD or July 17^th, 2021 at 11:00 am, Pahrump Valley Senior Center, 1370 West Basin Avenue, Pahrump, NV 89060.