A celebration of her life was held at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 9, 2007, at Central Baptist Church, 9001 North 145th East Avenue, Owasso, Oklahoma. Burial was in Ridgelawn Cemetery, Collinsville, Oklahoma.

She is survived by husband, Don D. Wasson, and son, Donald Darren Hyatt, both of Vera; sister and brother-in-law, Linda and Fred Hampton, Owasso; and stepchildren, Wendy Nichols, Tulsa; Melissa Tindle (and Mark), Tulsa; and Martin D. Wasson (and Kristin), Broken Arrow. Also surviving are her niece Leslie Hampton Thomas (and Jeff), Tulsa, and nephew Fred (and Marla) Hampton, San Antonio, Texas, nine stepgrandchildren, and five grandnieces and grandnephews.

Shirley was the first lady of Rotary International in 2000–2001 when her husband served as district governor. Her skills learned in the business world made it possible for him to make more than 100 official speeches and visits during a six-month period. It would have never happened without her.

Shirley was born to Everett Eugene Harris and Anna Lou Hewitt Harris on February 3, 1935, in Collinsville. She graduated from Collinsville High School in 1952 as its outstanding senior in business and secretarial endeavors and won the Commerce Award.

She married Donald Ford Hyatt shortly after he returned from the Korean War on April 14, 1956. Their son, Darren, was born on December 27, 1960. She married Don Wasson September 14, 1984.

Shirley’s professional career at American Exchange Bank in Collinsville began in 1952 and ended with her retirement 38 years later. It was the only job she really ever had — besides helping with the family farm and Appaloosa horse breeding and training operation. She began at the lowest rank as bookkeeper and advanced to vice president and cashier for the final 15 years of her employment. Her rise to that management level occurred during a time when women literally had to claw their way through the “good ol’ boy” hierarchy of the business world. Her advocacy for women receiving equal pay for equal work found willing participants at Women in Banking training sessions which she attended and eventually taught.

Shirley’s “second career,” in addition to helping her husband Don Wasson with his Rotary service, included two years at Northrim Bank in Alaska, where they lived from 1992 through 1994. She began work there as a part-time teller-line manager. Within two weeks, she had the keys to the front door and the combination to the vaults and was in the upper tier of management. She was overwhelmed that knowledge from a small-town bank in Oklahoma buoyed her to such acceptance in the big city of Anchorage, Alaska.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate gifts to Central Baptist Church Building Fund, 9001 North 145th East Avenue, Owasso, OK 74055, or to Shirley’s charity of choice, the Rotary Foundation, c/o Rotary Club of Tulsa Sunrise, P. O. Box 701391, Tulsa, OK 74170.