Shauna Karen Carson McCurdy
Nov. 24, 1953 - July 23, 2008

Wednesday, July 30, 2008 11:09 AM PDT

Weiser

Shauna Karen Carson McCurdy, 54, Weiser, died Wednesday, July 23, 2008, after a courageous battle with a rare disorder. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Aug. 1 2008, at the Weiser Stake Center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with a reception immediately following.

Shauna was born Nov. 24, 1953, at Mercy Medical Center in Nampa, and grew up on a large farm outside Homedale. She loved the land and had great reverence for the art and science of farming, becoming a prolific gardener in her adult life.

Shauna also loved all of the animals who lived on the farm — some more than others. She adored the barnyard cats and farm dogs and made sure each had a name that suited its personality. Her relationship with the hundreds of calves she woke to feed every morning, however, was somewhat more strained.

In high school, she was a member of the yearbook staff, co-wrote a gossip column for the school newspaper and sang in the school choir.

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She also wrote and read a great deal and dreamed of becoming a writer.

Though she loved the farm life, as a senior in high school Shauna decided to move to the big city, and in 1971, she went to live with her sister, DyAnne, in Boise.

She graduated from Borah High School in 1972 and lived in Boise for the next 18 years — relocating to Weiser in 1989. She attended Boise State University and obtained a bachelor of arts in English and communication in 1978.

In 1979, she met Patrick McCurdy, whom she married Nov. 2 of that year. She adored Pat’s wit and intellect — and, in her later years, spoke gratefully of his strength and patience as a caregiver.

Shortly after their marriage, Pat and Shauna went into business together, publishing newsletters and creating other graphic arts projects for clients around the Treasure Valley. Working out of the home together enabled them to spend more time with each other as well as their children, Jacob and Christen.

When her daughter entered high school, however, Shauna decided she wanted to try a different career path and began commuting to Boise State University to obtain a teaching license — but her desire for higher education did not stop there. In 2002, Shauna earned a master’s degree in education from Boise State University; in 2008, she earned a second master’s degree, this time in bilingual education, from Boise State University. In June 2008, Shauna was thrilled to learn she had been admitted to the University of Idaho’s doctoral program in education.

As she pursued her teaching certificate and first master’s degree, Shauna substitute taught at schools around the Treasure Valley. Later, she held regular positions teaching English at Treasure Valley Community College, Ontario High School and Cambridge High School, which awarded her a teacher of the year award at the end of the 2007-08 school year for her dedicated service in the face of mounting illness.

At the time of her death, her family was fielding phone calls from other Treasure Valley school districts seeking her for positions open in the coming school year. She had also accepted a flexible position with the Idaho Virtual Academy.

Shauna loved opening students’ eyes to the joys of reading and writing. She tried to teach every student and, in particular, reached out to those students who struggled socially or academically, making sure they knew that everyone was welcome in her classroom.

While teaching full-time and furthering her own education, Shauna found time to dedicate to her family, pets and garden. She spent hours each week on the phone with her grown children, was a devoted caretaker of her cats, Simon and Schuster, and her golden retriever, Gabby.

Prior to her final hospitalization, Shauna spent hours per day in her garden, the place where she was happiest — one of the proudest of her many achievements was the year (April 1996) when her garden was named garden of the month by the Weiser Gardening Club.

Shauna is preceded in death by her father, John R. “Ted” Carson, and her grandparents.

She is survived by her husband, Patrick McCurdy, Weiser; her son, Jacob McCurdy, Seattle; her daughter, Christen McCurdy, Portland; her mother, Delna Carson, Nampa; her brother and sister-in-law, Steve and Linda Carson, Nampa; her sister and brother-in-law, DyAnne and Jerry Bermensolo, Boise; her sister and brother-in-law, Brenda and Norman Hogg, Caldwell; her sister and brother-in-law, Pamela and Matthew Bright, Coeur d’Alene; her sister and brother-in-law, Susan and Blake Isaacson, Tucson, Ariz.; and dozens of nieces and nephews. Memorial contributions may be made to the Vasculitis Foundation, PO Box 28660, Kansas City MO 64188 (https://www.vasculitisfoundation.org/).

 

Because I could not stop for Death,

He kindly stopped for me;

The carriage held but just ourselves

And Immortality.

We slowly drove, he knew no haste,

And I had put away

My labor, and my leisure too,

For his civility.

We passed the school, where children strove

At recess, in the ring;

We passed the fields of gazing grain,

We passed the setting sun.

-— Emily Dickinson