Gina (Smith) Shifman (aka Gina Bean, Bean, Ice Mom) passed away on March 8th, 2026 in her home after a long and hard-fought battle with metastatic breast cancer. She was surrounded by her family and friends, and it was only fitting that the sun was shining as she passed. She will leave a gaping hole in her family's life. Gina was born on February 11, 1965, in Silverton, Oregon to George and Shirley Smith. She married the love of her life, Andy Shifman, in 1994 in Denver, Colorado, and later welcomed her daughters Holly and Jill.

Gina grew up in Silverton, Oregon, and her childhood was marked by summers working and playing in the berry fields with her siblings and friends, family camping trips, traveling to the Oregon coast, and getting up to shenanigans with her longtime best friends Sheila, Michelle, and Patti. Her father George lovingly nicknamed her Gina Bean – something that followed her forever. Her mother Shirley passed on her profound empathy which was one of Gina's most enduring and admirable traits. Along with the mostly happy parts of her childhood, she also experienced tragedy when she was only 13 years old with the passing of her beloved 16-year-old sister, Twila. She moved to Hawaii when she was just 20 to chase the sun and adventure, and later, she moved to Denver, Colorado where she met and fell in love with her husband Andy (and his street dog Jake). They welcomed Holly soon after they got married. They later moved to Michigan, where Jill completed their family, and she built a beautiful and extremely full life in Huntington Woods, Michigan.

Gina was the true embodiment of sunshine – she made those she loved feel warm, protected, loved, and cared for the second she walked in a room. When packing her daughters' lunches, she would wrap every banana in bubble wrap so that they didn't bruise. She was affectionately called Ice Mom by every one of Holly's friends because she was everyone's first call in the case of an emergency or trouble. Everyone who was lucky enough to know her felt this extreme love and compassion – she just radiated it.

She was so creative, crafty, and talented. Her paintings and decorative pillows hang in countless homes and brought her so much joy to make for her loved ones. She would sew every Halloween costume expertly to the point that everyone from Huntington Woods can recall Andy having the best Shrek costume they've ever seen 25 years later. She had a knack for finding things that seemed to be old or broken and fixing them/re-upholstering them/painting them and creating something beautiful and special. And every school project was over-the-top and did not lack a single creative detail because she stayed up all night perfecting them.

She loved the sun and she passed that on to both of her children. She taught her daughters to grow things and embrace the dirt – giving them each their own garden to tend to and decorate each year. Some of their best memories are spending hours outside playing in the dirt while Gina picked each weed individually so that the plants would thrive. She had an amazing green thumb and filled her home with an abundance of greenery that Andy is learning to keep alive.

She and Andy loved traveling to Florida or the south of France to chase the sun during the long Michigan winters, and they made amazing memories e-biking along the beach and collecting shells (which Gina put in her handy shell belt).

Gina loved her people deeply and unconditionally – and she showed it in her words and actions every single day. She loved the Earth deeply. She loved her dogs (Jake, Louie, Stanley, and Luna) and every living creature deeply. And the world loved her back.

She is survived by her loving husband of 31 years Andy Shifman; daughters Holly Shifman and Jill Shifman; mother Shirley Smith; mother-in-law Elaine Shifman; sister Tracy Harris; brother Todd (Kim) Smith; sisters- and brothers-in-law Steve and Valerie Shifman, Missy and David Bean, Pamela Shifman and Lee Schere; nieces and nephews Kelly (Charlie) Vaugn, Brian Harris, Jeffrey Harris, Maya Edery, Jordan Shifman (Molly Cantore), Josh Shifman, Adam Edery, Annabel Bean and Brandon Smith; beloved dog Luna, as well as countless other cherished family and friends. She is preceded in death by her father George Smith; father-in-law Arnold Shifman; sister Twila Smith; and brother-in-law Mike Harris.

Memorial services will be held at the Grand Hall at the Oregon Garden in Silverton, Oregon on Friday, July 17th, 2026 from 3-7pm. In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution in Gina's honor to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation or the National Forest Foundation.