Audrey Mae Weiss

Audrey Mae Shipley was born in Chicago, IL to William L. Shipley and Evelyn M. Nickerson Shipley on November 4, 1925.  She was one of the first babies in which doctors used forceps. Due to inexperience she was injured and there was some uncertainty as whether she'd survive.  Her Grandma Shipley worked her miracle and brought Audrey out of danger.  From the beginning she was a fighter.  Her childhood was one of adventure as a tomboy who could keep up with any of the boys.  She had a hearing loss since birth thus was sent to a school for deaf children, which she hated.  She yearned to "be just like other kids".  At age 12 her parents divorced.  She remained with her father.  Upon graduation she attended art school, in which she showed talent.

She married Craig Wagner and they had two sons, Richard John and Thomas William.  The marriage failed and at the same time her beloved father died.  Alone and with two babies she boarded a train and headed to the West Coast to join her mother.  Shortly after, she met and married Leslie F. Weiss.  They first settled in Seattle then moved to Oregon, Leslies' home state.  Harriet Josephine was born in Portland and 10 years later Dale Robin was born.  Their family was complete.

Audrey maintained the home and took care of many neighbor children to supplement their income.  She was very accomplished as a "domestic engineer".  She enjoyed cooking, sewing, knitting, gardening and canning.  Life was busy and good.  The family enjoyed the outdoors, so many camping trips were enjoyed.

Eventually children grew up.  Richard left for the Marines during the Vietnam era.  He became a man and Mom worried and prayed.  Tom got married and moved to Seattle.  Harriet and Dale were still home.  In 1968 Dale died from chickenpox.  This little family was shaken to its core.  But we regrouped and moved forward.  Grandchildren were welcomed in to the family and enjoyed.  Harriet married and Les retired. Audrey and he became Snowbirds, having lots of adventures in Arizona and making new friends.   This continued for 9 years until Leslie passed away in 1990.

Audrey sold their place in Estacada and moved to a condo in Milwaukie.  She had a service dog named Cosmo to assist her with her hearing loss.  They were quite the pair.  She took several trips with Ruth, a friend.  Health problems forced her to move to a retirement home.  She settle in and found contentment with the activities and residents.  As her health deteriorated and she needed more help she moved to Homewood Heights.  Again she settled in, made friends and enjoyed the many options for recreation.  She enjoyed Penny Poker, Bingo and Red Hat ladies to name a few.  Although these moves were difficult she accepted the change with little complaint.  During her stay there her son, Tom, passed away in 2013.  She grieved but in her stoic way accepted another loss.  Finally in late 2014 one last move was required and she lived her last 15 months at Milwaukie Convalescent Home.

Audrey always said she'd hoped to live as many years as her Grandma Hattie who passed at age 85.  She surprised us all by surpassing Grandma Hattie by 5 years.  At age 88 she told Harriet "I never thought I'd live this long!" She had her fighting spirit until the end.

Audrey was the mother of four children, grandmother of nine, great-grandmother to fifteen and great-great-grandmother to one.  A legacy of love.