Hollis Grace Sherburn Shjarback Obituary (1929 - 2021)

Hollis Grace Sherburn Shjarback 1929 – 2021 Hollis was born on December 3, 1929 in San Diego, California to Emma Laura George and Edwin Douglas Sherburn. Hollis passed away on January 30, 2021 at the age of 91 at her daughter’s home in South Jordan, Utah. Hollis attended Hoover High School in San Diego. Hollis’ friend’s mother had a boarding house and it was there that she met her future husband, Thomas Ronald Shjarback. They eloped to Yuma, AZ and were married on August 19, 1950. Tom passed away in 2009. Hollis was always busy. She volunteered for the Ocean Beach Little League, she was a Girl Scout Leader, active in PTA, and in several other service organizations. Pre children she worked as a librarian and then when her youngest was in school she also went back to school and worked for many years as a bookkeeper for the tuna fishing industry. When Tom retired they traveled to visit family, they spent several months in Alaska, and every summer they would meet up with their kids and grandkids for a week of camping somewhere in the western U.S. They also loved going on cruises, one of their favorites was going through the Panama Canal. Hollis also toured England, Scotland and Wales with her daughter. One of the highlights of her life was visiting Stonehenge. Hollis made beautiful pictures with mosaics and won ribbons at the San Diego County Fair. Hollis and Tom played Bridge every month with a group of devoted friends for many years. She was very proud of San Diego and loved showing people around the city. Her family homesteaded in the 1800’s in San Diego and she was very proud of that fact. Through genealogy work Hollis found her father and extended family who had disappeared when she was a child. As a result she was able to meet a brother she never knew she had, along with aunts and uncles and other relatives and reconnect with her pioneer roots in the Midwest. Hollis had three children: Karin (Ira) Terry, South Jordan, UT, Thomas Shjarback, Lakeside, CA, and Eric (Silja) Shjarback, Anacortes, WA. Eight grandchildren and eleven great grandchildren. Hollis’ ashes will be placed with Tom’s at a future date at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego.