Longtime former elected official in Franklin County dies

A woman who served as the Franklin County assessor for 14 years has died.

Shirley Morrow, 93, died Sunday in Kennewick.

She began working for the county in 1963 as a personal property appraiser. Three years later she was named chief deputy, a position she held for 11 years.

From 1977 to 1980 she was administrative assistant and in 1980 was appointed assessor, with voters then electing her.

When she announced her retirement in May 1994 she told the Herald that “everyone wants to be liked, and with this job, everyone in the county does not like you at one time or another. We always touch people’s pocketbook, and we have to make them understand that what we are doing is the law.”

The hardest part of the job was knowing that many people were hurting financially, but that tax laws still had to be followed, she said.

She saw many changes in her time in the assessor’s office, including the dive that Franklin County’s tax base took after the Columbia Center mall in Kennewick opened.

As she retired she commented on the growth in Franklin County and the increased value of farm land. She said that she was hoping that building what is now the HAPO Center in Pasco would help lower the tax base for residents.

She found the reward of her sometimes stressful job to be the people she met.

“I was really dedicated to the public,” she said. “I always enjoyed interacting with them. I enjoyed making people sure they were informed of all the laws, rules and regulations.”

She said when she retired that she was looking forward to spending time with her husband, Ray, and putting aside her numbers-oriented job for more artistic pursuits, including painting, sewing, refinishing furniture and landscaping.

Einan’s at Hillcrest in Pasco is handling her arrangements.