In Loving Memory
Shirley A. Anderson
April 17, 1935 - May 31, 2021

VISITATION
Tuesday, June 8, 2021
4:00 - 8:00 P.M.
Martin-Mattice Funeral Home
Ruthven, Iowa

SERVICE
Wednesday, June 9, 2021
11:00 A.M.
Redeemer Lutheran Church
Estherville, Iowa

INTERMENT
Crown Hill Cemetery
Ruthven, Iowa

Shirley Annette Anderson, daughter of John Daniel and Venita Annette (Hansen) Westergard, was born April 17, 1935 in Lost Island Township, near Ruthven, Iowa. One of Shirley's favorite stories to tell about her childhood was that all 13 (two parents, eleven kids) would literally pile into the family sedan to head to family gatherings.  On one occasion they arrived home late; a sleeping Carol got left out in the car most of the night because none of the older kids wanted to carry her in.  Carol came in the next morning furious that she had been left in the car and no one noticed.

Shirley was first and foremost a caretaker. She worked for several years as a CNA, providing frontline care for people no longer able to care for themselves. She also loved to feed her family. When Don would have hunting trips, Shirley had a variety of recipes to prepare and a delicious meal was soon to follow. She also insisted on being the one to prepare holiday meals, even into her 80s, despite her granddaughters frequently volunteering to help her out. When her grandkids came to visit, they always left with buckets of cookies. Shirley always kept up on how the college and pro sports teams were performing.  She frequently would make conversation about the most recent Sunday Night Football game.  I'm not so sure she really cared about any of it, but she wanted to be able to have topics ready for phone calls and visits. Football for her was just a means to an end: it all came back to family.

Shirley absolutely loved babies!  She would have stolen a few, if it weren't illegal.  She adored babies.  Casey remembers when Adalyn, his eldest, was born, Shirley and Don came to the hospital and Shirley took the baby.  Amy's grandparents came in shortly after.  Neither of Amy's grandparents got a chance to hold Adalyn during that visit because Shirley wouldn't give her up! The first time Donni's daughter Hattie came up to visit her in Estherville, Shirley had a collection of toys and planned age appropriate games for a three-year-old. Shirley was on the floor playing with the baby for most of the visit despite being in her 80s!

In her later years, Shirley was one of "The Three Amigas" with Carol and Janet enjoyed meeting for lunches each week.  They'd usually finish their get together off with some sort of ice cream treats over cards.  They traveled to each other's family gatherings together and never considered an adventure complete without stirring up some fun!   She also enjoyed being a part of her church community and socializing with the others in the ladies' group that held events like bake sales and made meals for funerals. Her church was a central focus of her life.

Shirley was a big sewer/seamstress in the 80s.  Lots of needle-point decorations that she created 40+ years ago are still around her house and others' homes.  Casey would guess at least half of his wardrobe in elementary school came from her Singer sewing machine.  None of it was real "hip" (he can remember one matching button-down shirt and shorts combo with elephants printed on it), but it was well made. Sewing was not her only artistic endeavor: she kept a large garden and an intricate flower garden at her Spencer home for years.

Shirley, as a proud caretaker, never wanted to be taken care of. After a bout with illness last year, she was very proud of working herself from the hospital and out of the rehab nursing home back into her own home.   She was able to live her life on her own terms to the very end, making us all very proud of her too.

Shirley passed away Monday, May 31, 2021 at her home in Estherville, Iowa, at the age of 86.  She was preceded in death by her parents, John and Venita Westergard; her husband, Donal in 2009; her daughter, Robin Anderson; brothers and sisters, Elaine (Kenneth) Henningsen, Doris (Donald) Peton, Marlys (Lowell) Kiehl, Donald (Delores) Westergard, Margaret (Irven) Dalen; Helen (Rex) Souders; Edna Mett, Richard Westergard and Lyle Westergard.

She is survived by her sons, Gary (Joanne) Anderson of Brookings, South Dakota and John (Soo Young) Anderson of Bellbrook, Ohio; her grandchildren, Donni (Dan Hunt), Janni, Nikki, Lauri, Colton, Casey (Amy) and Chris Anderson; great grandchildren, Harriet Olive Hunt, Adalyn Grace Anderson, Ellys Elizabeth Anderson and Lincoln Thomas Anderson; her sister, Carol Westergard (Morrow); sisters-in-law, Janet Westergard, Ardie Westergard and Carolyn Anderson; brother-in-law, Franklin Mett; nieces and nephews; as well as many other relatives and friends.

Arrangements by Martin-Mattice Funeral Home