June 17, 1930 – September 28, 2016 Oklahoma City
Lorene (Shannon) Bolin passed away on September 28, 2016. The eldest of eight children, Lorene was born on June 17, 1930, in Foss, OK to Lonnie Allen & Audrey Alethe (Richard) Shannon.
She spoke of a childhood filled with hard work, such as hoeing the garden, canning vegetables, cooking on a wood-fired stove, pulling cotton in the summer heat; and fond memories of her grandmother, Maggie Bell; a pet rooster (that got its head stuck in the fence, so she couldn’t eat the fried chicken that was served for dinner that night); playing games with her siblings, who called her Sis and `Rene; and a senior trip to San Francisco. In 1948, she moved to OKC and enrolled in the St. Anthony Hospital School of Nursing. She finished the program in 1951 and began working as a registered nurse in the surgical unit at St. Anthony. One evening, a gentleman called for a date with her roommate who wasn’t there and the gentleman asked if she’d go out with him instead. She refused to date a man she hadn’t met, but she agreed to meet him the next day.
She said that she looked into those sparkling blue eyes and shining white teeth and fell in love with him on the spot. Lorene married Eulice Edward Bolin six months later on February 15, 1958, becoming both a wife to him and a mother to his 9-year-old daughter, Linda, on that day.
In 1960, they were blessed with another daughter, Patti. Lorene continued to work as a nurse in the pediatric unit and later in the neonatal unit at St. Anthony. In fact, she was the first to care for both of her granddaughters when they were born. She retired from St. Anthony in 1995. Lorene was a member of Walker Avenue Baptist Church and later Brookwood Baptist Church, both in OKC. She was a devout Christian who loved her family and her Lord and served them both with tireless devotion. She loved to read, work crossword puzzles, paint her fingernails, cook, practice her penmanship, sing, plant flowers, play with her daughters and granddaughters, talk to her friends, and dote on her husband. Lorene was preceded in death by her parents; and her husband, whose blue eyes were still sparkling 51 years later; as well as her sister and brother-in-law, Syble (Bolin) and Alvin Adams. She is survived by her daughters, Linda Story and Patricia Bolin Ratliff (spouse Carl); her granddaughters, Angela Finney and Kelsea Burch (spouse Nathan); two great-grandsons, and three great- great-grandchildren; her sisters, Audria (Shannon) Arnett (spouse Len) and Florella Mae (Shannon) Bashaw; and brothers, Lonnie Shannon, Odell Shannon (spouse Charlotte), Vernon Shannon (spouse Margie), Bill Shannon (spouse Gracie), and Tony Shannon; and numerous nieces and nephews, including Lois (Adams) and Marion Byrd, and James Adams. The family is grateful for the kindness and care provided to Lorene by Integris Southwest Medical Center, Grace Living Center, and Autumn Leaves Memory Care Residence.
