Shirley Lee Pederson

On the evening of December 6, 2025, Shirley Lee Pederson passed in peace at her home in Klamath Falls, OR. She was born Shirley Lee Heidenreich, on June 21,1934, at the old Hillside Hospital. A child of the solstice, she grew up in Beatty, where her father owned a gas station and shop called The Red Top Garage. Her grandparents owned a ranch on nearby Whiskey Creek, where she helped out, and rode her beloved horse, Patsy. She attended boarding school at Sacred Heart Academy and graduated, a pianist in the making, in 1952.

Shirley attended Marylhurst College in Lake Oswego and worked as a secretary in Klamath before getting married in 1954. Nine years later, with guidance from her Lord, she chose to leave an unsafe marriage. She took her sons back to Beatty to live with her mother, Babe, who was U.S. Postmistress and sole proprietor of The Red Top Garage. The whole family pumped gas and helped put out the mail. Together with Babe, Shirley raised up her boys to be themselves.

In her 40’s she married a funny and faithful man named Russell Pederson. With him by her side she opened a general store that served the people of Beatty and those who traveled through on Hwy 140. She was a tough, fair, and successful business woman. People found more than gas and groceries at Shirley’s place. They found community. By then she was a member of the Beatty Assembly of God where for years, like King David, she played and sang for her Lord.

Shirley retired in her 60’s and became a small town philanthropist and savior to countless stray cats. Come heck or cold frozen ground she kept her outside kitties fed and doctored. When Russell passed in 2017, she lived on alone, on her terms, tending her very fortunate cats. In 2022 Shirley bid farewell to Beatty and surrendered to the loving care of those who attended her at Rogue River Place.

Shirley is survived by her three sons, Rob, Paul and John; and three grandchildren, Lindsey, John, and Emily. Collectively, these six other lives are beholden to the grit and grace with which Shirley lived her whole and singular life.

Family will hold a private service. In Shirley’s name, donations to anyone in need are welcome.

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