Shirley Ruth (Pickens) Wahlman October 18, 1934 ~ October 7, 2024 (age 89)

Memorial services for Shirley Wahlman, 89, of Portales will be held at 2:00 PM, Sat., Oct. 12, 2024 in the Wheeler Mortuary Chapel with several of her surrogate children officiating. Jack Batson, Mike Terry, Buddy Blue, Leslie Rector and Rod Self have been named as honorary pallbearers. The family will receive guests Friday evening at the funeral home from 6PM-8PM.
Shirley Ruth Wahlman was born Oct. 18, 1934 in Boswell, OK to the home of Lillian Ruth (Baxter) and Hugh William Pickens and passed from this life peacefully at her home on the afternoon of Oct. 7, 2024. Shirley graduated from Boswell High School in 1952 where she had been active in choir and various musical groups. She went on to attend college at Ada, OK where she met the love of her life, Bill Wahlman. They were married at the end of her freshman year, and moved to Portales after only two weeks of marriage. She and Bill returned to study at Ada that summer. When they returned in the fall to Portales, she resumed her studies at Eastern New Mexico University, graduating in 1956. While she was still in college, she began working with the pre-school program through the university in 1955. In 1957, when the Portales school system started the kindergarten program, Shirley was one of the two original teachers. Mrs. Wahlman was a beloved teacher in the system for 36 years.
Besides their teaching careers, the couple had a thriving photography business. Bill was the photographer, but Shirley did the bookkeeping and collecting the money, and making sure that the photos reached the customers. They were a team in everything they did. Bill began the summer sports programs and coordinated them for many years, and Shirley was right there beside him helping with the details.
Shirley and Bill enjoyed playing tennis and were heavily involved in the local tennis program. Shirley was also an excellent Bridge partner. She did all sorts of crafts, including sewing and cross stitch. Over the years she had acquired a large collection of glass and figurines. She was also a world traveler, having gone with the university summer programs to various places in Europe, as well as on cruises to Alaska, Hawaii and New England and the Canadian Maritimes. She made several trips with Happy Travelers Bus Tours to Nova Scotia, Washington DC, and New York City among others.
Shirley and her husband were faithful members of Third and Kilgore Church of Christ where they made numerous friends and connections that became family. Shirley was also a member of Chapter R PEO and Beta Sigma Phi Sorority.
Shirley and Bill together served the community in countless ways, and always with humility and love, never seeking recognition. Over the years, Shirley had been recognized with numerous accolades. Before her retirement in 1994, she was chosen as Teacher of the Year. She was named to the Hall of Honors by the Portales Schools and her portrait hangs along side of her husband’s in the School Administration Building. Just two weeks ago, her friend and former protegee, Gay Su Pinnell endowed a scholarship named in her honor to assist early childhood development students, and the first recipient was named. Despite her failing health, Shirley was able to attend the reception and “knocked it out of the park” with her thank you speech.
She is survived by her “daughter,” Alejandra Sanchez of Alicante, Spain; her surrogate family, Mike and Christi Terry, Buddy and Lugene Blue and Leslie and Cathy Rector all of Portales; her nieces and nephews, including her very special niece, Betsy Wood, and husband, Gary, as well as Craig, Jerry and Hugh Pickens and Gail Pickens Barger; and Evonne Ferguson, Sharon Martinez and Ebony Cooper who have given her loving daily care that has enabled her to remain at home, which was Shirley’s goal. It would be impossible to name the literally thousand of lives she and Bill together have loved and mentored who are also survivors of their legacy. She was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers, Dale and Gene Ray Pickens and a beloved sister and brother-in-law, Lelda and Bill Roberts, as well as her beloved husband, Bill who died Aug. 20, 2018.

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