Neighbors Profile on Shirley Darling

Neighbors Profile

Name: Shirley Darling

Occupation: Retired steel fabricator after 18 years in the business.

Marital status/Family: Married to husband Jim after 13 years. She currently lives in Oakley at Eagle City. “There is a good group of people who live here. They gave generously to the Friends of Oakley this year with 48 gifts and 30 $20 gift certificates, as well as lots of food,” she said.

Proudest Civic Achievement: Darling said that she would have to say her proudest civic achievement had to be the time she sat on the state chairs of the Degree of Pocahontas. The organization, which has a chapter in Oakley, is a non-profit that raises money and awareness for several causes.

“I really enjoyed doing it. We accomplished a lot during the time I was there. The group raises money for Alzheimer's and has raised $2 million nationally. Then the state group also picks a different charity depending on the state chair. It is really a good organization,” she said.

Darling also said that she is happy to be a part of the new Friends of Oakley group. “This is something we have really needed in here in Oakley. We needed to get together and work together. We are still a small community and it is going to take us all to make it what we want our city to be,” she said.

Future Achievement: “I would really like to get all the groups together in town and really do something for the kid. Get the kids to do constructive things in the community,” she said.

Groups and organizations involved in: Currently Darling is a member of the Redman-Pocahontas of Oakley. She is also a board member of the Friends of Oakley and she is a member of the Oakley Senior group.

The Oakley Seniors has been in existence since 1946 and meet on the third Sunday of every month on Rosemary Lane County building. “It keeps Oakley seniors out and active,” she said. She encourages all Oakley seniors to get involved in the group.

Hobbies: Darling says she loves to garden and does it every chance she gets. She used to be “crafty” but she has been doing so many other things lately she hasn’t had a chance to do any of it lately.

She says that her volunteering is like a hobby. “I really enjoy doing it. I so enjoy what we are doing at the Pocahontas with the Community Awareness Day and the Halloween Haunted House which just grew dramatically this year,” she said.

What was the last book you read? “Computers for Dummies” was the last book she read. She said that she has been very interested in computers lately. She and her husband took three courses through the Liberty Adult Education program. “The first computer I ever saw took up an entire room. What we deal with now is so phenomenal,” she said.

Favorite movie: She said she would have to say “Dirty Dancing”. “I just loved all the dancing in the movie and Patrick Swayze is the best,” she said.

On one last note: Darling said that she loves everything that has to do with the American flag. She is currently working on putting together a pamphlet on the flag and our country. “There are so many things that new citizens have to answer to become a citizen that most of us who are already citizens can’t answer,” she said.