Shirley Boyce

Posted

Shirley Boyce, a resident of Grand Junction, passed away on Nov. 24, 2021. She grew up in Wisconsin and received her nursing degree in Chicago.

She joined the Air Force and served at Eglin Air Force Base. She married Jim Walker and started a family and settled in the San Luis Valley in 1961 where she worked as a nurse. The family lived briefly in Bolivia where she volunteered at a nonprofit medical clinic.

Upon returning to Monte Vista, she and Jim divorced, and she continued working as an RN. She was part of a group of nurses that started San Luis Valley Homecare. In 1983 Shirley married Wayne Boyce, and after she retired, they moved to Grand Junction. Shirley volunteered at the Respiratory Rehab Unit at St Mary's, and pursued training to volunteer for county emergencies.

Shirley loved to create art and knitting. She explored knitting techniques and designs throughout her life and created a business called Boyce Designs. In Grand Junction she enjoyed friendships in the knitting community and coordinated fellow knitters to donate hand-knit items to assistance programs. She taught classes at a local yarn shop and repaired knitted items.

She was preceded in death by her husband Wayne Boyce, and survived by her three children Becky Walker, Kelly Walker, and Jennifer Walker, two grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.

In memory of Shirley, the family encourages donations to HopeWest Hospice www.hopewestco.org/shirley-boyce/. Full obituary at www.brownscremationservice.com/obituary/Shirley-Boyce.