Memorial services for Shirley H. Dimmitt will be held Friday, Jan. 17 at 2 p.m. at Burley Funeral Chapel, Oak Harbor. Oak Harbor Emblem Club and Beta Sigma Phi Sorority will officiate. A reception for family and friends will follow at the Oak Harbor Elks Lodge.

Shirley H. Dimmitt, 88, died Jan. 9, 2003, in Lacey. She had been involved in an accident on Sept. 30 when a truck crashed into her home in Oak Harbor.

Shirley was raised in Lamar, Colo. She graduated from Union High School in 1932 and attended Colorado Women’s College at Denver; Lindenwood College at St. Charles, Mo., and Kansas University at Lawrence, Kansas, for one year each. She was an accomplished musician and organized and led the Shirley Strain Swing Time Band. She studied piano and organ and was the organist at the Pioneer Theater in Lamar. Shirley was married to Elton E. Dimmitt in Lamar, Colo., on June 23, 1937.

After World War II, Elton was employed as an engineer with the Philco Corporation and the Dimmit family lived in Fort Worth, Texas, San Diego and Long Beach, Calif. In 1953 they came to Whidbey Island, where they remained until 1969, when they moved to Seattle and then on to Fullerton, Calif. In 1975, they returned to Oak Harbor to stay.

Shirley was a member of Oak Harbor Emblem Club No. 459, where she served as organist for nearly 20 years. She was also a member of Beta Sigma Phi Sorority for nearly 60 years. She was a founding member of the Beta Sigma Phi chapter in Oak Harbor in 1964 and a member of the Master Group. She was also an active bowler for many years, bowling in the women’s league, mixed doubles, the Acorn League and the Senior League.

Mrs. Dimmitt is survived by two sons and their spouses; Kirk and Chith Dimmitt of LaQuinta, Calif., and Kent and Carol Dimmitt of Tumwater, and one granddaughter, Lisa Marie Dimmitt of San Diego. Her husband Elton Dimmitt and one son Ronald Dimmitt preceded her in death.

Memorials may be made to the Washington Elks Therapy Program for Children, PO Box 110760 Tacoma, WA 98411-0760. Arrangements are by Burley Funeral Chapel. This obituary may be seen at http://burley.plan4ever.com.