Pauline 'Pat' Shook

Pauline "Pat" Shook passed away Sept. 19, 2005, in Sandpoint, Idaho. She was born June 7, 1914 in Nez Perce, Idaho, to Myrtle and Harlan "Hy" Moser. Her father was the first Fuller Brush salesman in the Northwest. She attended schools in Nez Perce, Lewiston and later Spokane, where she graduated from Lewis and Clark. She then attended Lewiston Normal School, earning her teaching credential. One of her first teaching assignments was at Lincoln Elementary School in Sandpoint. She described herself as a non-traditional teacher and laughed about how the other teachers were annoyed at her for having her students occasionally parading and stomping about in her classroom. She also taught at Northside School, which was then a one-room schoolhouse. One of her more interesting jobs while in Sandpoint was working at the Ross Hall Studios, hand tinting post cards. She remained lifelong friends with Ross and Hazel Hall.During her tenure as a Sandpoint "school marm" she met her future husband and life's love, Vernon Shook, at a beer joint on a houseboat that was parked at the south end of the Long Bridge. Her description of the event was that they ended up in a crowded Plymouth Coupe and she was forced to sit on Vernon's lap, By the time they reached the other end of the wooden Long Bridge, they had discovered that they had all of the "important stuff" in common. The rest was history. They were married in an "impatient" wedding at the Bonner County courthouse in 1938. They grabbed the first person they knew, Conrad Frazier, off of the street to be their best man.Pauline accompanied Vernon, first to Vancouver, British Columbia, where he got his master's degree in sociology where they had their first child, Mary Susan.Vernon enlisted in the Army during World War II and was stationed in the United States as a psychiatric social worker. One of his more interesting and heart-wrenching assignments was in southern Idaho where he was involved with, and lived near, the Japanese relocation camps.After the war, Pauline and Vernon were assigned to Rome, Italy, where Vernon helped with the relocation of European Jews to Israel. While in Rome. Pauline gave birth to their first son, James Herbert, on the dining room table in their Roman apartment. The growing family then moved to Moscow, Idaho, where Vernon taught sociology and criminology at the University of Idaho. In the fall of 1950, Mary Susan was diagnosed with leukemia. She died in February 1951. Three weeks later, Pauline gave birth to her second son, Daniel Kenneth. Pauline made life as calm as it could be for the three years following that tumultuous time. In 1954, Vernon was hired by the United Nations in a program known as U.N.R.R.A, a branch of the U.N. designed to rebuild infrastructure in war-torn regions of the Third World. During the next four years, the family circumnavigated the world two-and-a-half times, living in Iran, Jordan and what is now Bangladesh, with stops in Hawaii, Tokyo and Hong Kong.In the following few years, Pauline and her family traveled back and forth across the U.S. Vernon was working for Health and Welfare. The family lived in Virginia, Denver, Colo., and Maryland, While in Denver, Pauline attended Colorado University and got her bachelor of arts degree. She tried her hand again at teaching but decided that the children had "changed too much" since the 1940s.When the family moved to the Washington, D.C., area in the mid-1960s, she worked as a secretary for the Department of the Navy at Andrews Air Force Base. Pauline's final two moves were to Albuquerque, N.M., in the early 1970s, where Vernon worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and finally back to Sandpoint after Vernon's retirement. She became immersed in designing their house on Upper Gold Creek, entertaining the loving neighbors, especially with her "fantastic" Halloween parties, and researching both her and Vernon's family histories. She published two genealogy books and her personal historical novel, "Run Naomi Run."Her last years were spent at Alpine Vista, The Bridge and Life Care Center. Pauline lived a full and fulfilling life and will always remain "Ma" Shook, Aunt Pat, and Grandma to all of us who knew and loved her well. The family wishes to thank all the staff and friends who cared for her and Vernon throughout the years.Lakeview Funeral Home in Sandpoint is handling arrangements. Please visit Pauline's memorial at www.lakeviewfuneral.com and sign her online guest book.