Shauna Andres
Service: Graveside memorial at 10 a.m. Friday, May 29, at Hill Top Cemetery, Gaither Mountain; Visitation: 6-8 p.m. Thursday, May 28, at Roller-Christeson Funeral Home.
Shauna was not your traditional woman. So it seems only fitting that her obituary reflect the same style, energy and loudness she brought to the lives of everyone around her.
Shauna Catherine (Curtis) Andres died at 9 a.m. Friday, May 22 (2015) at Baptist Health in Little Rock. Her death was due to sudden liver failure, caused by an ongoing liver condition that made it hard for her body to clear out the normal blood toxins our biological bodies create every second. She would want to tell anyone reading this to take care of your liver, because it plays a vital role in our human anatomy and physiology. She’d also want you to learn something new, so, fun fact: The liver is the second largest organ in your body (your skin is largest).
Shauna was preceded in death by her amazing Mamaw, Katie Mallet, and her fun-loving sister, Rachel Curtis, who she missed every day.
She is survived by the loves of her life, her three boys, Kade (8), Keaton (6), and Logan (her husband of 13 years) Andres; her brother, Carson Curtis; her parents, Bill and Wileen (Mallet) Curtis; her “daughter from another mother,” Alivia Taylor; and many, many extended family members and friends; plus many random strangers in Wal-Mart who always seemed to need her help for something.
Shauna also had many other “kids” from her years as a science teacher at Green Forest High School and Bergman Middle School, where she earned the name “Momma Andres” for being as good with helping kids with the dynamics of teenage drama as she was with the dynamics of Newton’s Laws of Motion.
Closed casket visitation (because she’d kill me if it was open) will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, May 28, at Roller-Christeson Funeral Home in Harrison. Her graveside memorial service will be at 10 a.m., Friday, May 29, at Hill Top Cemetery on Gaither Mountain. Instead of flowers or plants, please make a donation in memory of Shauna to the Boys Ranch in Bergman. She always had a soft spot in her heart for her Boys Ranch kids. Go to www.abchomes.org/boysranch to donate, and select "back to school" in the drop down.
Sign the online guestbook atrollerfuneralhomes.com/harrison .
There are no words perfect enough to describe Shauna, so let me leave you with a few of her words: “make good choices,” “focus on what matter,s” “have faith,” “you can be anything you want to be,” “don’t take my picture,” “pick me up a Diet Dr. Pepper,” “what bird is that,” “okie dokie,” “just keep swimming,” “love ya!”
While we may never get to hear her words again, or see her bright smile again, she’ll always be in our lives. As that one bright flower amongst the weeds, the colorful butterfly that randomly lands on your chair, that crazy bird who just won't stop chirping at you, the smell of a new Bath & Body Works plug in, and the breeze on a beautiful day. We will love and miss you forever Shauna. We’ll do our best to just keep swimming.
One of Shauna’s favorite parables about life was the story of The Cracked Water Pot:
A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on one end of the pole he carried across the back of his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream, the cracked pot arrived only half full. This went on every day for two years, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots of water to his master’s house.
Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishment and saw itself as perfectly suited for the purpose for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its imperfection and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived as bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. “I am ashamed of myself and I want to apologize to you.” “Why?” asked the bearer. “What are you ashamed of?”
“For the past two years, I have been able to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master’s house. Because of my flaws you have to work without getting the full value of your efforts,” the pot said. The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and out of compassion he said, “As we return to the master’s house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.” Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the wildflowers on the side of the path. The pot felt cheered.
But at the end of the trail, the pot still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and again it apologized for its failure. The bearer said to the pot, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I knew about your flaw and took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve watered them for me. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master’s table. If you were not just the way you are, he would not have such beauty to grace his house.
For most of her life Shauna tried to be “the perfect pot,” but she would want you to know that we are all cracked pots. She would tell you to not overlook the beauty, value and happiness you bring to those around you simply by being the cracked pot you are!
Anyone that knew Shauna also know music was a huge part of her life. So here’s a Shauna Playlist of songs that either meant something special to her, brought fun to our mornings, or helped pick her up when she was down (plus a few just for fun):
1. Elastic Heart by Sia; Her mantra, her song
2. Big Girls Cry by Sia; Because sometimes we all cry
3. Born This Way by Lady Gaga; Because she was one of Gaga’s Little Monsters
4. One Way Or Another by One Direction; She and the boys danced to this one all the time
5. Counting Stars by One Republic; We’ve watched this music video 1,000 times
6. Hall Of Fame by The Script; Her song for every kid she ever taught
7. Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey; Because she still had some old school traditions
8. Shake It Off by Taylor Swift; Because who doesn’t love Taylor Swift
9. The Scientist by Coldplay; The best song ever written
10. All About That Bass by Meghan Trainor; Just because it made her laugh
11. Faith by Limp Bizkit; Logan & Shauna’s “song” from college
12. I Bet My Life by Imagine Dragons; Shauna’s song for Logan
13. Mirrors by Justin Timberlake; Logan’s song for Shauna
14. The Cave by Mumford & Sons; The last song played on her phone
