Jerene Beryl Maierle
PHOENIX – Jerene Beryl Maierle, our Matriarch and the most incredible, classy, loving Mother,
Nana, Sister, dear friend, Auntie and community leader that anyone could have asked for, passed away peacefully on April 7th, 2021.
She was born on September 30th 1933 in Calumet, Michigan to Joseph and MyrtleMaierle. She was one of 5 beautiful daughters.
At 5 years old, their family moved to Jerome, Arizona and soon after that they moved to the valley and settled in Glendale, Arizona. She would go on to attend grade school there and eventually high school and graduate from Glendale High School. She was always known for being the social butterfly in her family and friend circle. She was married to Phil Shores for 25 years and they had 4 beautiful children. She was a loving, nurturing and caring mother to Phil, Joey, Connie and Cindi. While they were still quite young, in the early 1970’s, she made the decision to go back to college. She attended Tempe College, now Arizona State University where she earned her bachelor’s degree in social work.
She committed her life from that point forward to serving the community in big ways. In 1994 she started Hospice of Arizona from her spare bedroom. Over the years, the agency grew to become the 2nd largest hospice in the state of Arizona and at one time was the 10th largest in the country. Her mission was simple and profound: love people to the end and give them the highest quality of end-of-life care. In all of her career, she never made anything about her. Never boastful or needing recognition for her great accomplishments. She always said it was the team at HOA that made them successful.
Even after her retirement from Hospice of Arizona, she stayed active in the hospice community, consulting and counseling and volunteering her energy, time and expertise to helping others grow in their careers. She leaves behind her daughter Cynthia and son Joseph, her grandchildren, Phil, Andrea (Chris), Kristen (Michael), Logan, Samantha, Drew and Stephanie and 6 prized great grandchildren whom she loved with every inch of her heart as well as her sister Marcia and many loving nieces, nephews and the dearest friends. Love will most certainly be her legacy. She had all the worldly accomplishments but her mission was people and to serve them with everything she had. No doubt God welcomed our Matriarch and said, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” We will forever miss her deeply until we reunite again. Thank you to White Rose Hospice for the greatest care during her final days. We are forever grateful for walking this journey with our family.