Don Shirrell

Monday afternoon the headline in my feedreader drew my attention: Two dead in Aurora head-on collision.

Was anyone I know involved?

So I clicked.

A head-on collision killed two drivers, including a Molalla firefighter, Monday near the 13500 block of Ehlen Road.

Veronica F. Flores, 28, of Salem was eastbound in her white Honda Accord about 4:30 p.m. when the car crossed into oncoming traffic and crashed head-on into a Northwest Natural Gas Co. van driven by Molalla firefighter Donald L. Shirrell, 43, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said.

Shirrell.

The name jumped out at me.

Probably not the one I know.

(As I recall the original story didn’t mention his being a firefighter with Molalla FD.)

But several hours later I got the email that informed it was the one I knew.

We attended the same school (Elliott Prairie Christian School) though he was a classmate with my sister while three of his siblings (John, Don, Teresa) were my classmates.

Ruby and I attended his funeral yesterday.

The toughest parts for me were when…

The big group of girls from his daughter’s dance team all filed past the casket, each leaving a flower (a rose, it appeared from my distance). I pray at least one of their lives will be affected for good in the kingdom of God.
The people from the Molalla Fire Department formed up along each side of the aisle the casket was taken from the auditorium. First lots and lots of first responders exited the building down that aisle while the MFD stood at attention and in frozen salute. Then the honor guards and casket and families.

May God sustain and draw to Himself those grieving ones (including those affected by Veronica’s death).

Oh, I was also impressed that the chaplain, in both of his prayers, prayed in Jesus’ Name.

I took a few photos. The little ones are actually screen captures from video; they’re not clickable. The one of Don I did not take.