Shirley M. Pokorny (nee Siska) from Chardon, Ohio, passed away on February 3, 2019, at Geauga Medical Center. She was 90 years old. Born in 1928, Shirley showed an aptitude for learning at a very early age. She began school in a one-room school house in Chardon Township. When she was a sophomore at Chardon High School, she took first place in the state-wide English exam. She graduated as the Salutatorian of Chardon High School in 1945 when she was only 16 years old. She attended Hiram College for two years and later took a job at Snap Out Forms in Chardon until her marriage in 1951 to Joe Pokorny. Joe and Shirley met at the Geauga County Fair in 1950 where Shirley was a member of the Geauga County Fair Band, playing the clarinet. They wed in January 1951 and had four children. Joe and Shirley’s lives revolved around their family and they spent their entire married life together in the house that Joe built in Hambden Township. They volunteered for various school and community organizations throughout the time they were raising their children. They were lifelong members of St Mary’s parish in Chardon. Shirley was a homemaker extraordinaire and also used her bookkeeping and business skills to help manage Joe’s building and logging businesses. She extended her caring and love to nieces and nephews, especially those in need, and to friends of her children. She relished being a grandmother and in recent years, a great-grandmother. After her husband, Joe, passed away in 1995, Shirley managed all of her affairs including the upkeep of the Siska Farm which has remained in the family for over 100 years, something she was very committed to and most proud of. At age 66, she took a part time job at the Chardon Library. She loved the library and she loved working there. She rejoined the Geauga County Fair Band and played at many performances around Geauga County until she was in her 80s. As she neared 70, she traveled to Hawaii (Pearl Harbor), England, France (D-Day Beaches) and the Czech Republic where she visited the small villages of her ancestors. She lived a full life and stated she did everything she had wanted to do. Shirley, an only child, is survived by her children: Thomas (Shelly) Pokorny, Richard Pokorny, Barbara (James) Kellogg and Nancy (Anne Bruder) Pokorny, five grand children, three great-grand children, many nieces and nephews and dear sister-in-law, Jan (Speck) (Pokorny) Taczy. She was preceded in death by her husband, Joe, her parents, Charles and Hilda (Bluhm) Siska, and her niece, Maryann Pokorny-Ryan. Our family would like to thank the staff at Mapleview Country Villa for the friendly and caring help they provided to our mother during her stay there. Visitation will be held Friday, February 8, 2019 from 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. and Saturday, February 9, 2019 from 10 a.m. – 11:00 a.m., with the Funeral Service at 11:00 a.m. at Burr Funeral Home, 116 South Street, Chardon, Ohio. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions may be made in Shirley’s name to the Chardon Friends of the Library, 110 East Park Street, Chardon, Ohio 44024. Burr Funeral Home in Chardon handling the arrangements.