Five Graves to Boot Hill

Gordon Donald Shirreffs was born in Chicago, Illinois. In 1935, he became a clerk for the Union Tank Car Company. In 1940 he left the company to serve in the army. He trained as an artillery officer with the 39th Artillery Brigade at Fort Bliss, Texas, then went into combat overseas from 1940-45. In 1946, returning to the U.S. after the war, he resumed his position at the Union Tank Car Co. He also began taking night classes in writing at Northwestern University. He had decided he wanted to be a writer, and was writing Western and young adult stories after hours. In 1946, he opened Shirreffs Gadgets and Toys in Chicago, but in 1952 he closed the business in order to move to California to become a full-time writer. In 1967 he received a bachelor's degree in history from California State University, followed by a master's degree in 1973. Over the course of his career, he published over 150 short stories to periodicals, and over 75 novels. He also produced scripts for four movies and one television series. He continued writing right up to his death in 1996.