Shirley Eleanor (Thompson) KIRKEBY

KIRKEBY, ALLEN, SCHILL, FRANZEEN, THOMPSON, RUST, GRAVES

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 9/13/2008 at 11:19:15

January 16, 2008
Fort Dodge Messenger, Iowa

Shirley E. Kirkeby, 90, of Fort Dodge, passed away on Sunday, January 13, 2008, at Villa Cottages Assisted Living. Funeral services will be held on Friday, January 18, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Olaf Lutheran Church with Pastor David Grindberg officiating. Burial will be in North Lawn Cemetery. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Gunderson Funeral Home.

Shirley is survived by her daughter Sue Allen of Edina, Minn., her daughter Sherri Schill and son-in-law Bob Schill of Fort Dodge; her sister Nuella Franzeen of Fort Dodge; her sister-in-law Bernadine Thompson of Chula Vista, Calif.; her three grandchildren Scott Allen and his wife Jessica Allen of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Sara Allen of Minneapolis, and Matthew Schill of Fort Dodge; and her great-grandson Hunter Allen of Minneapolis.

Shirley Eleanor Kirkeby was born to Severt and Nellie Thompson at Kanawha, Iowa on August 17, 1917. She attended the Kanawha schools and graduated from high school in 1935. She then moved to Fort Dodge and was employed in sales at Gates Department Store and H.C. Kirkberg Jewelers. On June 14, 1941, she married Willmer Kirkeby in Fort Dodge and they made their home in the Round Prairie neighborhood all 63 years of their married life. She was a faithful member of St. Olaf Lutheran Church.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, her sisters, Agnes Rust, Stella Thompson, Marjorie Thompson and Ina Graves, and her brothers, Howard Thompson and Donald Thompson.

Shirley was committed to her church, enjoying baking lefse, preparing bulletins, and attending Bible study. A devoted wife and mother, she took her greatest pleasure in homemaking and in helping others. She also enjoyed spending time with her family, attending card club, gardening and reading. Memorials will be given to St. Olaf Lutheran Church and Hospice.