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Shirley Smith Rooney of Marathon, Texas, departed this world on Aug. 20, 2021, at the age of 86. She was welcomed at the heavenly gates by her husband Pat, her son Bubba, her parents Charles and Marjorie, her sisters Charlene and Marjorie Lee, and her brothers Tommy and Bill. Numerous family and friends patiently waited to greet her also. Shirley was born in Balmorhea, Texas, on Aug. 26, 1934. They didn’t live there long before moving to Marfa, Texas, where three more siblings we born. In 1948 the family moved to Marathon where Shirley’s father opened up the Big Bend Cafe. Shirley’s youngest brother was born in Alpine that same year. She worked in the cafe before school and afterwards, and helped babysit her younger siblings. In 1952 she married Pat Rooney, and graduated from high school. Over the next five years, four children were born to this union. Cooking and serving the public was in her blood - literally. Her husband was a rancher, and she continued raising her children and working at the cafe. She eventually bought the business from her parents, and managed her own cafe for the next several years. She sold the cafe in the late 1970s, and continued cooking in the area until 1998. In 1999 she opened Shirley’s Burnt Biscuit in Marathon, and got rave reviews for her baked goods. Her motto was, “Life is short, eat dessert first.” She sold the business in 2006, and retired after 50-plus years in the food industry. Shirley leaves behind three daughters, Becky Esparza, Francene Taylor, and Betty Jo Rooney; five grandchildren, Elizabeth Esparza, Jennifer Esparza, Jason Taylor, Jack Taylor, and Joe Esparza; 10 great-grandchildren; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. Services have been entrusted to Alpine Memorial Funeral Home. Graveside service is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021, at 11 a.m. at Marathon Cemetery.
