Shirley Mae (Johnson) FAABORG

JOHNSON, FAABORG, LAWLESS, DIETZEL, ANDERSEN, HARTZ, ACKART

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 2/10/2024 at 13:06:56

July 10, 1932 --- July 3, 2019

Shirley Mae Johnson Faaborg, 86, died July 3, 2019, at Rolling Green Village in Nevada, Iowa.

Shirley was born on July 10, 1932, to Clifford and Blanche Johnson in Walnut. Her family moved to Elk Horn, where she attended school, graduating in 1950. The day after graduation, Shirley hitched a ride with the mailman and moved to Audubon, where she worked as a waitress until being recruited to work at the local Bell Telephone office as a switchboard operator, a job she remembered fondly into her golden years. She married her high school sweetheart, Otto Faaborg, on Oct. 24, 1952. Otto was drafted into the U.S. Army shortly after their marriage, and the couple was stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

Shirley and Otto had three children: sons, Rhett and Rand, and daughter, Ronna. Shirley lived in a number of Iowa towns with her family, including Des Moines, Ocheyedan, Calamus, Parkersburg, Zearing, Renwick, Nevada, Clearfield, Bagley and Exira. Upon Otto's retirement as a school superintendent, the couple moved to Ames in 1998.

She was sometimes a stay-at-home mom, but Shirley also worked a variety of jobs over the years, mostly in education and caring for others. She worked in the special education departments at Jefferson-Scranton Elementary School and Ames Middle School. She owned and operated her own preschool at Boone Valley in Renwick; she also worked at Edith Hale Day Care in Nevada and the nursing home in Zearing.

Shirley was an amazing cook and immaculate housekeeper. She doted on her family and spent a lot of time attending her kids', grandkids' and great-grandkids' activities, and hosting large gatherings for family and friends. Shirley was an avid fan of Cyclone and Hawkeye basketball; she loved to travel, dance, birdwatch and play Scrabble. She loved to wear high-heeled shoes.

Shirley is survived by her husband Otto, of Ames; son, Rhett (Denise) Faaborg, of Nevada; son, Rand (Tammy) Faaborg, of Radcliffe; daughter, Ronna Lawless, of Ames; grandchildren, Tara (Chad) Andersen, Soren (Amy) Faaborg, Tyler Faaborg, Tanner Faaborg, Ranae (Kevin) Dietzel, Trey Faaborg, Riley (Calvin) Hartz and T.J. Lawless; seven great-grandchildren and one on the way in September; brother, Dale (Carolyn) Johnson of Rudy, Ark.; sister-in-law, Marcia Johnson, of Ogden; many nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her parents, brother Clifford "Sam" Jr., Ruby Ackart, and a brother in infancy.

A celebration of life service was held Tuesday, July 9, at 6 p.m. at Rasmusson-Ryan Funeral Home in Nevada. The family requests memorials be made to the Alzheimer's Association of Iowa.

Tri-County Times --- Slater, Iowa
July 11, 2019