Spokane Authors & Self-Publishers
Member Biography

Shirley Penna-Oakes

Shirley Penna-Oakes was born in Spokane and raised in Oregon by her Italian dad. She has been married to her high school sweetheart for 41 years, and has two daughters, six grandchildren, and one great-grandson.

She began recording the stories that her grandmothers, one Italian and on Irish, would tell her when she was 8-years-old. Shirley is an active member of a number of genealogical societies and is the past president of the Easter Washington Genealogical Society. She has taught beginners’ classes for genealogy at Mead High School and Spokane Falls Community College. She has also lectured at the state and regional levels in WA, OR, MT, and CA., and was chairperson of the 1992 Washington State Genealogical Conference in Everett. Shirley was recently chairperson of the Walking with Ancestors guided tour and barbecue at Fairmont Cemetery, and is also the compiler/publisher of a number of genealogical research booklets.

Ms. Penna-Oakes is now compiling the History of the Pleasant View Cemetery (Ford, WA) and the stories of its residents, with co-author Mary Morgan.

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