Robert "Bob" V. Shirley

Bob’s service will be livestreamed below starting at 2 PM Thursday, March 9, 2023.

Robert (Bob) Vernon Shirley went to be with the Lord on March 2, 2023.

Bob was born July 8, 1926, to William and Nellie (Urschel) Shirley in Rolla, North Dakota. He graduated from Valley City High School where he was active in sports. He was a member of the highliners 1945 Class A basketball champions, co-captain of the Highliner football team, and was a member of the 1947 Viking football North Dakota small college champions.

He was drafted into the Navy in 1945 as a U.S. navy corpsman, medic third class, and was stationed at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Farragut, Idaho. He later served six months at a naval air base in Maui. After the Navy, he returned to Valley City and attended 2 years at Valley City State University and then went on to the University of North Dakota where he graduated with a business degree. While at UND, he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.

He worked for Phillips Petroleum for 11 years. He then went to work for his brother at the W. O. Shirley Construction company for 9 years.

He met his wife, Betty Jane Morris, and they married in 1967. They lived in Fargo, North Dakota. Their son, Troy came into their lives in 1969, followed by their daughter Holly in 1971. In 1976, they moved to Bismarck, North Dakota, where he worked for Ross Laboratories (Abbott Labs) for 19 years. He retired in 1996.

When he retired, they moved to Lake Melissa, Minnesota, and made the lake cabin into a home. They spent a lot of time at the cabin with family and friends and made life-long memories there.

In 2002, they moved back to Fargo. Bob worked for Sanford Medical Center in various roles as he drove special transportation for Care A Van, taking patients in wheelchairs or stretchers to various healthcare facilities in Minnesota and North Dakota. Care A Van became his second family.

Bob loved to hunt pheasants and geese and spent three years moose hunting at La Paz in Canada. He also enjoyed watching the NDSU Bison and attending games. He always had a smile on his face and a joke or story to share with everyone.

He is survived by his children, Troy (Nancy) Shirley of Bismarck and Holly (Doug) Roehrich of Bismarck; 5 grandchildren, Jordan Roehrich, Jonathan (Sydney) Roehrich, Brynn Shirley, Dawson Shirley and Kallyn Shirley; 1 great-granddaughter, Rory Roehrich.

He is preceded in death by his wife, Betty; his parents, William and Nellie; his sisters, Sylvia (Leonard) Bakken and Vivian (Herb) Bernardy; his brother, William O. Shirley; brothers-in-law, Warren Tarbell and Ed Gross.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the American Cancer Society.