Shirley Sjaholm

A Life Well-Lived

Shirley Joyce Sjaholm was born on a wintry day in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She was the youngest of five sisters but the first to be born in a hospital. Shirley’s cheerful and bright personality earned her the nickname "Sunshine" from her father.

Her tastes developed early, even as a toddler she loved onion sandwiches! She grew up relishing picnics, al fresco dining, and all sorts of adventurous gastronomic experiences. Shirley’s first cherished pets were an affectionate chicken that accompanied her everywhere and a faithful dog named Curly. Her love encompassed all sorts of animals, wild and domestic, and, as an adult, she adopted dogs, stray cats, and wild crows.

She delighted in nature and was an enthusiastic birdwatcher, camper, a skilled swimmer, and passionate gardener. As a young beauty with a keen fashion sense and a tremendous sense of humor, she even contemplated stand-up comedy. Her comic exemplar was Phyllis Diller!

Shirley was a party person and revelled in entertaining. A fan of the Kingston Trio and Woodie Guthrie, she played the guitar and enjoyed singing folk songs. She also was an admirer of opera and the Hollywood Bowl Summer Concert Season. Shirley was an artist who studied Art History and also earned a degree in Law.

She was a lifelong educator for over 55 years, educating three generations of children. She was a public elementary school teacher who was certificated as a master teacher for the LAUSD. She studied early childhood education in Italy. She received her International Montessori certification in San Diego, California. With her elder sister Virginia, Shirley built and founded Baxter Montessori School in Echo Park and a second Montessori School, Verdugo Montessori, in Eagle Rock.

Shirley’s interests were broad and encompassing. She was avid reader; she was a lover of poetry, literature, history, mystery, and police stories, and relentlessly challenged herself with daily crossword puzzles. For her entire life, she remained well-informed, sharply observant and profoundly insightful. An exceptional woman of her times, Shirley was independent, business savvy and tirelessly industrious.

Raised both in Kenora, Ontario, which was her mother's hometown, and in Worthington, Minnesota where her father's Swedish immigrant family settled in the 1890s, Shirley was a proud American patriot, a student of American history, government, and law. A world traveler, she visited cities, deserts, jungles and wild places on all seven continents, including Antarctica. She loved meeting people, studying cultures, architecture, exploring customs and cuisines, visiting museums of art, history, natural science, and industry.

Shirley made friends all over the world. Her love of family, friends and people of the four-legged-kind arched across more than nine decades and a great portion of the Earth's surface. Her faith life was intense and personal.

She was a donor to many charities and organizations. Her large family of descendants includes her nephews and nieces, great nephews and nieces and great, great nephews and nieces and every child whose intellect and spirit she nurtured. All her many gifts, her loves, her talents, her experiences: she shared them all selflessly with her family and friends.

She was generous and caring. In fact, Shirley was a great teacher, mentor, the greatest of aunts and a second mother to John, Robert, Maria, Christopher, Maggie and Joe.

Timeline of Shirley's Life

• Born-March 14, 1935: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

• 1935-1947: Kenora, Ontario, Canada and Worthington, Minnesota

• 1947-1960: Lakeshore Avenue and Scott Avenue, Echo Park, Los Angeles, California

• 1960-1977: La Clede Avenue, Atwater Village, Los Angeles, California

• 1977-2026: Avon Street, Elysian Heights, Los Angeles, California

Shirley's School Years

• Kenora, Ontario, Canada and Worthington, Minnesota for Grammar School

• Virgil Junior High School

• Belmont High School

• UCLA

• Southwestern Law School-JD

• Master Teacher LAUSD

• International Montessorian

Baxter Montessori School

Located in Echo Park, Los Angeles, Baxter Montessori was founded in the late 1960s and officially licensed in 1970. Established by two educators, Virginia and Shirley Sjaholm, to bring affordable, high-quality Montessori education to a working-class neighborhood, it has operated for over 50 years, featuring a "no-frills" approach with a focus on trained staff and a natural environment.

Travel Destinations (partial list of favorite trips)

•Mexico (many times) •Central America •Costa Rica •the Caribbean •Guatemala •Cuba •Macchu Picchu •Peru •Rio •Brazil •trip down the Amazon •Argentina •Uruguay •Tierra del Fuego •Colombia •Ecuador •Galapagos •Russia •Lake Como •Milan •Rome •Italy •Paris •France •London •Berlin •Budapest •Luxembourg •Belgium •Amsterdam •Netherlands •Spain •Portugal •Ireland •Scotland •Wales •the Cotswolds •Cruising on the Danube •Jerusalem (3 times) •Athens •the Greek Isles •Crete •the Mediterranean on a Turkish gullet •Istanbul (more than once) •the Black Sea •Beirut •Morocco •Egypt •Libya •Syria •Jordan •Saudi Arabia •Oman •Africa on safari and visiting animal preserves •British Columbia •Nova Scotia •Prince Edward Island •Quebec •Nebraska •the Dakotas •Tennessee •Kentucky •Ohio •Virginia •West Virginia •Pennsylvania •Georgia •Texas •New Orleans •Hawaii (many times) •Florida •New York City •Massachusetts •New Hampshire •Maine •New Mexico •Oregon •Washington •Nevada •Arizona •Colorado •Wyoming •Montana •Alaska •Viet Nam• Hong Kong •Kowloon •China (so many times, she was certificated as a tour guide) •Cambodia •Singapore •Thailand •India •Rajasthan •Tibet •Katmandu •Mongolia •the Arctic •Antarctica •Australia •New Zealand •Tasmania