Obituary
Shirley Dee Zuehlke, 92, of Eau Claire WI, passed away peacefully on September 24, surrounded by family. Shirley was born on July 14, 1932 in Eau Claire, WI, to parents, Edwin T. and Inez (Wiggins) Hanson.
Shirley was a 1950 graduate of Eau Claire High School and later earned a Bachelor of Science degree from UW Eau Claire. Her chosen field of study was medicine, and she dedicated her post graduate employment to serving the community as a Medical Technologist ASCP with Sacred Heart Hospital where she mentored and trained UW Eau Claire Interns and headed the Hematology Department during her tenure.
Family always came first to Shirley and was her primary focus above career and her other interests of which there were many. Shirley loved to make things with her hands and that passion led to her development of amazing knitting skills that were the product of tireless effort and later in life dedicated study under masters in places such as Norway, Sweden, England and Iceland. The high-quality mittens, sweaters, hats and scarves she crafted and always gave away remain treasured possessions of her children, grandchildren and friends. Shirley’s other interests, which she never failed to pursue with great vigor, were kittenball and gymnastics as a young person followed by skiing, Taekwondo, biking, golf and later in life taking her Border Collie “Zip” to the dog park in her signature black Jeep nearly every morning, winter and summer. Shirley was also a “baker extraordinaire” beginning this journey as a young person spending countless hours working with her father in the kitchen of his Madison Street restaurant, Hanson’s Café. Her specialties were Lefse and frosted donuts. Everyone knew her baking day was Saturday and many would drop in for coffee knowing there was a slice of Dutch apple pie, blonde brownie or sweet roll to be had.
On March 14, 1953, Shirley married Keith Zuehlke and together they started their family of five children in a Chippewa Street apartment near downtown Eau Claire. Soon after the birth of their first child in 1954 the young couple built a house on what was formerly known as Truman Avenue, now Taft, where they lived until 1974 when the wide-open spaces of rural Wisconsin called and they built an Alpine-style home on acreage south of the city. After retirement, the lure of the West and the Rocky Mountains became too strong to ignore. In 2001 Shirley and Keith moved to Steamboat Springs, Colorado where they thrived until eventually relocating to Orlando, Florida in 2020 to be closer to family.
Shirley is survived by her loving husband of 71 years, Keith Zuehlke: brother Edwin T. (Janet) Hanson of Eau Claire; son Brad Zuehlke (Donna Goetsch) of Chippewa Falls; daughter Stephanie Zuehlke; daughter Karolyn Zuehlke of Orlando, FL; son Reed (Brita) Zuehlke of Orlando, FL; daughter Robin (Dan) Edmunds of Chanhassen, MN; grandchildren, Tonia (Scott) Brooks; Chris Brisson; Kendall (Marcus) Severson; Dieter Zuehlke; Daniel Zuehlke; Kizaray Edmunds; Nakia (Tyler) Gehl; Maverick (Harley) Edmunds and 5 great-grandchildren.
Shirley was preceded in death by her parents, Edwin T. and Inez (Wiggins) Hanson and many whose lives she touched with kindness.
Celebrations of Life will be held in Florida and Wisconsin:
DATE: October 12, 2024
TIME: 2:00 – 4:00 PM
LOCATION: E4555 483rd Avenue, Menomonie, WI 54751
DATE: November 23
TIME: 2:00 – 5:00 PM
LOCATION: 2835 Stanfield Avenue, Orlando, FL 32814
In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to Partners for Global Health at
www.p4gh.org.
This photo was taken at Rita Valentine Dog park on December 21, 2015. Shirley and Zip were among good friends that Finn and I had there.
There is a great story behind this photo of Mom (circa July 2020).
After packing up the house in Steamboat, the plan was Mom, Stephanie, and I would drive to Houston and stay with Stephanie until the apartment Reed and Brita were building for Mom above their garage in Orlando was completed. During our stay at Stephanie's, some things were discovered that needed to be hauled to the dump. All was packed into the bed of Stephanie's truck, and off Mom and I drove to this dump. I drove the truck to this dump near Sugar Land, TX. Now, this dump is THE best, most beautifully landscape, well graded, well organized dump I have ever seen! Hands Down! No Kidding! All Joking Aside! Anyway, I drove the truck to where I was directed, and got out. Mom was about to climb up on the tailgate to help me throw things off the truck bed when a young man drove up and got out of his truck. He looked at Mom. He looked back at me, and then asked me if he could help us at all. Knowing what he meant, I looked at Mom, then at the young man and said, "She may be old, but she's strong!” He didn't know what to say to that. I smiled and laughed a little, thanking him for his offer. He looked at Mom and then back at me kind of sideways, got back in his truck and drove off. I told Mom we needed a great photo to go along with that story.
She posed for this happy snappy!
Mom taught each of us girls to wear many different kinds of hats and to be women of many seasons.
Funny...she would say she has three girls and two boys. The girls wear work boots and jeans to work, and the boys wear suits and ties!
I would like to send my condolences to everyone.
From mom, Lions and tigers and bears oh my, .....how about a moose in the backyard checking out her garden in Steamboat, she loved it!
From mom in the yard, she loved being in Steamboat
Ok this is my best picture of grandma or Shirley to me. The joke between us, was everyone had trouble making it out of the Tug Boat but not into the bar. This is my favorite picture of her just because she and I had so much fun with it. This picture was taken between 11am or 12 for lunch in front of the old Tug Boat Saloon in Steamboat.
This is one of my favorite photos of Mymom.
My wedding day, June 2021. Grandma and Grandpa were the longest standing married couple out on the dance floor. Thank you for giving me a life-long, faith-based marriage to aspire to, and for giving me 31 years of support, laughter, and love. You are in Heaven and I know you will be waiting on me with open arms. Without you, there wouldn't be me. I love you, Grandma Zuehlke! PS. I have your chocolate chip cookie recipe in a safe place, and will always make sure my kids are wearing blue when we bake :)