Rocky beginning led to a happy, fulfilling life
Elia Powers
New Year’s Eve wasn’t wild around the Shirar household.
It was more like a weekday night, remembers Stella Worden. That’s
because the next morning was the Rose Parade, and her father, Cecil
Henry Shirar, would be up before 4:30 a.m. to fulfill his duties as
honorary director of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses.
“He loved the festivities,” Worden said. “It was a chance for him
to see his old buddies and socialize with everyone. It was the
highlight of his year.”
A 46-year resident of Newport Beach, Shirar died May 3 at age 92.
Born in Houston, Shirar was one of 12 children. By the time he was
1 1/2 , his mother and father had died. Many of his siblings lived
with their 73-year-old grandmother.
The grandmother decided to put the two youngest children up for
adoption, and Shirar was one of them. He was 18 months old when he
was taken in by another family.
Shirar moved to Southern California in 1929 and knew little about
his real relatives.
“He didn’t know he had brothers or sisters,” said Tim Bauer,
Shirar’s nephew.
Bauer, a retired airline pilot living in Virginia, began his quest
to find Shirar in the late 1990s. But he was mistakenly looking under
the name “Alfred Bauer” because he didn’t know Shirar’s first name.
With some help, he came across Shirar’s information in 1999 and
later phoned him to verify his identity. Two days later, after he
knew he had the right man, Bauer flew to Southern California.
“The minute I opened the door to his house, my knees got weak,”
Bauer said. “He looked exactly like my father. He was a very
easy-going and positive guy.
“His first question for me was, ‘Why did you wait 85 years to find
me?’” Bauer said.
Bauer smiled and listened to Shirar’s story.
Shirar served during World War II and the Korean War in the Air
Force, retiring as a major. He worked for Union Oil Company of
California in the accounting department and later sold books to
public schools and libraries for Double A. Dorn publishing company.
Shirar owned a general-contracting business from 1946 to 1957, and
rose to become chairman of the board and chief executive officer of
Hines Wholesale Nurseries, which was sold to Weyerhaeuser Co. in
1976.
Throughout his life, Shirar was active in volunteer organizations
and country clubs. He was president of the 552 Club at Hoag Memorial
Hospital Presbyterian and was a member of the Big Canyon Country
Club, Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club and the Commodores Club of Newport
Harbor.
Worden said her father always enjoyed taking vacations to Hawaii
and attending family functions.
“He was very happy, very gentle, very sincere,” Worden said. “He
enjoyed his friends and family.”
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