SHIRLEY WHITESIDE Whiteside

Shirley Jean Carpenter Whiteside died Friday, Nov. 3, 2006, of lung cancer at her home in Port Aransas. She was 77.

W h i t e s i d e was born April 9, 1929, in St. Petersburg Fla.,

to the late Evelyn (Peggy) and Leonard (Peg) Carpenter. She moved to Port Aransas with her parents when she was eight years old.

Whiteside was around fishing all her life. She and her dad, a past president of the Port Aransas Boatman's Association and fishing guide in Port Aransas, fished together every time they could.

An avid fisherman, Whiteside never turned down an opportunity to go fishing. Whiteside worked at Woody's Sports Center for more than 40 years.

Whiteside was a deckhand for her best friend and captain, Leola Shanklin. She loved fishing local tournaments and never missed the women's PowderPuff tournament until last year, but she still made it to the weigh-in.

Of all the fishing Whiteside did, the blue marlin eluded her until she caught her "first blue at 72" aboard the Riptide with Carl Shanklin.

"Never had a more excited and proud woman been seen as Whiteside was when she caught that blue. She even made the front cover of Tom Nix's Saltwater Angler magazine", said her daughter Charla Hisler.

Whiteside had a lot of exciting adventures in her later years.

Funerals She went parasailing with Mary- Jane Shanklin on a bet Shanklin wouldn't go.

Whiteside loved to gamble on the Texas Treasure gambling ship with her girlfriends, as well as tube the Guadalupe River, even though she never learned how to swim.

Her other love was gardening in her backyard with her faithful companion dog Cody.

Whiteside always enjoyed a good laugh with all her friends and loved them dearly and her life was a "great ride."

Her husband of 37 years, Hershal Whiteside, preceded her in death.

Survivors include five daughters, Beverly "Cookie" (Lester) Matthews of Ingleside, Shirley "Gay" (Skip) Russey of Houston; Donna (Jimmy) Lewis of Aransas Pass, Charla (George) Hisler of Cedar Park; Brucette (Barry) Beitz of Austin; her "special son", Carl (MaryJane) Shanklin of Port Aransas; eight grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and one on the way; and one brother-in-law, Joseph E. "Buddy" Belcher.

Memorial services were held Tuesday, Nov. 7, at the Community Presbyterian Church in Port Aransas, with a reception at her home.

Memorials may be made to AIM Hospice, 703 E. Concho, Rockport, TX 78382.