School & Community News

Malinda Lou - Class of 81

Malinda Lou Shorter
1962-2009
Malinda Lou Shorter was born March 8th,1962 at Oak Knoll Naval Hospital Oakland, California to Donald and Connie Francke. She was the sweetest, smartest little girl, and always a good baby, she started walking at 9 months old and she needed bells on her because she was little under foot. During Malinda's high school years she was 1 out 10 chosen to go to Romania to study under Nadia Compinitic as a gymnast. She was homecoming princess in her sophomore year. She attended Vallivue High School in the class of 1979, she later graduated from Idaho State Barber College in 1980. She worked with her mother at DE-HAIR-UM barber salon in Caldwell, Idaho for 7 years. She moved to Elko in 1987 and began working at the Lions Mane at the Red Lion. In 1991 she opened her own De-Hair-Um Barber Salon in Elko. The salon closed down in 2004 due to Malinda being diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

She loved her customers, some of which became dear friends. Her hobbies were fishing and her record for the biggest catfish in the family has yet to be beat, boating and being the coolest tubing duo with her grandson Jace, camping and being the wilderness woman we all knew she was, landscaping and gardening. The Home and Gardening channel had nothing on her, canning every edible thing that she could find, cooking meals that would make Wolf Gang Puck jealous, creating gifts that brighten every holiday and season, and turning trash to treasure an art form. She w