Growing up with Shirley Irving as her mother, her daughter Dana said it was like living in a storybook.
"I felt like we were quite rich, which is really hilarious if you looked at the sort of shack we lived in across from a mill, with a railroad track about a block away," said Dana. "My parents had a joy of life and fun was the most important thing - not that they were irresponsible - but they knew how to make the best of everything."
Shirley, 80 , died suddenly on Dec. 20 of an aneurysm. She was best known as the owner of the Honey Tree store, located on Second Avenue, which started in her basement in 1979 or 1980 before moving to the downtown location in 1987, Dana recalled.
"She had the ability to bring out the best in people," said Dana about her mom, who served on the board of Community Futures for about 15 years. "As a boss, that's a fantastic characteristic to have because she gave people the power to do their job and she could nurture them along. These were not highly paid people but some of her employees were with her for the whole journey of more than 30 years. So I think that speaks to what kind of a person she was if her employees wanted to be with her for that long."
Dana said her mother had a real passion for her work and she was an amazing seamstress.
"Just this past summer she and I made a lot of costumes and clothes for our niece and me who do ballroom dancing," said Dana, who plans on putting some of the costumes on display at the memorial. "Because right up to the end mom was just so creative."
Dana said Shirley knew clothes and fabric so well that she was able to get good products to sell and showed people that buying quality was important.
"Because she cared," said Dana.
Shirley didn't have an easy childhood and left her parents' home on First Avenue when she was just 13 years old, quitting school, getting a job and finding a place to rent, said Dana.
"She was ahead of her time as far as being an independent woman," said Dana.
Shirley took a Dale Carnegie self-help course when she was still a teenager, added Dana. Carnegie is the author of How to Win Friends and Influence People.
"I think she adopted a lot of the philosophies from the course to her life from an early age and I think a lot of it was about positive thinking and moving forward and thinking the best of people," said Dana. "She was kind of new-agey for someone of her generation, I think."
Shirley met her husband Ken Irving when she was 20 and they married when she turned 21. Ken passed away after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease, said Dana. They were married for 53 years.
"They were a good team and they were crazy about each other," said Dana. "It was so rare to see a couple who still adored each other after 50 years and that was such a nice thing for us as their children to witness."
The key was their joy, sense of fun and love for each other, said Dana.
"They made good things happen with nothing," she said. "It was like being in a storybook and I have never met anyone luckier than me."
Shirley is survived by her children Bill, Tim and Dana Irving and nine grandchildren. A celebration of life is planned for the Prince George Golf and Curling Club on Jan. 16 at 3 p.m. Instead of flowers, the family has asked for a donation to the Prince George Hospice House.
