BBBTV12 Serving Anderson, Roane, and Morgan Counties
Shirley Garrison Frykman of Oak Ridge, TN, passed away at her home on August 30, 2024. Born on June 4, 1935, in Salem, IL, to Merle and Edna Branch “Mickie” Garrison, her family moved to Oak Ridge in 1944.
Oak Ridge was her home for 80 years. Shirley graduated from Oak Ridge High School in 1953. She began her career at the Y-12 Plant before moving to Union Carbide’s K-25 Plant in 1958. She married Stanley Finch and put aside her career to start a family. Shirley returned to work at the Department of Energy’s Technical Information Center (now OSTI) in 1975 then continued at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 1978, ultimately managing the Metals and Ceramics Division’s “Work for Others” program for Space and Defense Programs.
She received numerous awards for her work and was proud of her contributions to the Galileo mission to Jupiter and the Cassini mission to Mars. After her retirement in 1999, Shirley worked at both the Regal Pinnacle 18 Theater in Knoxville and K-Mart in Oak Ridge. Shirley grew up in Robertsville Baptist Church, where she taught children’s Sunday School for many years. In 2003 she joined First Presbyterian Church (FPC). One of her fondest memories at FPC was traveling to Belize on a mission trip to work with children at an orphanage. Shirley was an avid Disneyphile and made more trips to Walt Disney World than she could count with her Disney buddies and family. She loved celebrating holidays and birthdays and enjoyed tending her garden. Shirley was preceded in death by her parents, Merle and Mickie Garrison.
She is survived by her children: Myra Mansfield (Jack), of Oak Ridge; Becky Eddy (Brent), of Townsend; and Steve Finch (Amanda) of Kennesaw, GA. She is also survived by her sister, Beverly Stanford of Clinton and her brother Gary Garrison (Christine) of Oak Ridge; eight grandchildren: Esther Bowman (Austin), Temple, TX; Elizabeth Sawyer (Matthew), Nolensville; Dakota Eddy (Christen Waddell), Maryville; Jonathan Scott, Oak Ridge; Samuel Eddy (Bokyung Park), Conroe, TX; Emily Finch, Boston, MA; Alex Finch, Atlanta, GA; Claire Finch, Kennesaw; and four great-grandchildren.
A celebration of Shirley’s life will be held at First Presbyterian Church, Oak Ridge, on Saturday, September 21st, at 4 PM, with a reception to follow in the fellowship hall. The service may also be viewed through the church’s website and social media feed.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to any of the following children’s charities: UNICEF, Make A Wish Foundation through Disney, and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.
