Shirley Joy Bredahl

Shirley Joy (Westman) Bredahl was a Minnesota farm girl. Born on October 1, 1945, she was raised on the Kittson County farm of her parents John Russell and Ruth (Nelson) Westman. She was the youngest of four children: her siblings included brothers Dwight and David, and her sister Sharon (Hanson).

As an attractive and athletic teenager, Shirley was a cheerleader for several sports through her time at Stephen (Minnesota) High School. After graduating in 1963, she attended colleges in Fargo/Moorhead. There she met her lifelong friend and roommate, Patsy Blaufuss. And was introduced to Maury Bredahl who would become her partner for the next 60 years.

Shirley and Maury were married in August 1967. They settled into their first home, a tin World War II Quonset hut maintained by North Dakota State University for married students. After Maury completed his MS degree, they moved to Mankato, Minnesota in 1968 where he taught at Mankato State College and Shirley worked at a retail store. In 1970, they moved to St. Paul, Minnesota as Maury enrolled in the Applied Economics program at the University of Minnesota. Shirley became a secretary in the Poultry Science Department at the University. Shirley’s genuine kindness and friendliness established close friends there and wherever she lived.

On September 2, 1972, as Maury continued his studies, Shirley graduated with high honors to parenthood with the birth of their son Jason Elmer Bredahl. He was a charming and precocious youngster almost from the day of his birth. After completing his degree, Maury continued to work at the University. Shirley rented a house for the family in St. Paul and told Maury about the lease after it was signed! She had enough of apartment living. Their second child, Kristin Joy (Reed) arrived on November 8, 1976. Kristin thoroughly enjoyed tormenting her brother as she found his toys more attractive than her own.

In 1978, the Bredahls established long-term residency in Columbia, Missouri. Maury became a faculty member of the Agricultural Economics Department at the University of Missouri. Shirley worked as a secretary at the University. Although they ventured to several international locations for varying periods, they always considered Columbia home and returned there after overseas stays. On February 27, 1979 Michelle Maura (Ezzell) joined the family.

In the fall of 1985, the family moved to St. Germain-en-Laye, a small French village near Paris. Maury commuted to Paris for work. Shirley took on the responsibility of enrolling one child in the local French school, one child at the Lycée International du St. Germain and Jason in the American School of Paris. By necessity, she quickly made friends with a Danish parent and an English parent, who was fluent in French. All three had a child in the first grade. Nadine Wolfe successfully guided her friends through the rigidities and peculiarities of the French primary school system. All the time overcoming strange new requirements with smiles and laughter at mistakes made. Many lunches were shared at a nearby café.

Although Shirley took French lessons, French remained a mysterious language to her. Shirley Joy flourished in other aspects of this challenging environment. The family spent the Christmas holidays skiing at Chamonix in France. Numerous weekends were spent exploring nearby French villages with Medieval churches. That said, the highlight of one Sunday trip to Paris was the discovery of McDonalds!

The Chateaux at Versailles was nearby. Shirley Joy and the family spent Sundays exploring the gardens of Versailles. They were surprised to find three ponderosa pines that Benjamin Franklin presented to the king of France were still standing in the garden. The morning explorations concluded with a Croque Monsieur avec Frites at a small, delightful café in the garden.

Shirley Joy was busy with managing the family affairs of an expatriate family living in France. She made three lifetime friends. Finding lifelong friends would be true no matter where she lived.

The family returned to Columbia in the fall of 1987. Shirley Joy managed the enrollment of the children in the Columbia school system. As was her practice, she soon became good friends with Maria Dente and other parents. The children progressed though the primary and secondary school system.

Jason enrolled first at MU and then transferred to Missouri State University. Kristin received a scholarship at Missouri Valley College. She transferred in her Junior year to MU where she majored in French and education. Michelle completed her Business degree at Central Methodist University. Shirley Joy offered encouragement and helped meet the organizational requirements of having three children in three different universities.

Shirley Joy and the family were devastated by Jason’s death in February 1993. For only the second time in their marriage she acquired something without telling Maury: she brought a dog home to keep her company. Lady, a protective Jack Russell terrier, brought a boisterous and cheerful presence to the family. Shirley attended several training classes with Lady, so she became a well-mannered puppy.

Shirley turned to her first love: creating artistic things from fabrics. Her creations ranged from small stuffed frogs, delicate and complicated wall hangings and crazy quilts. The quilts were often made with her sister, Sharon, during annual visits to Duluth.

In the fall of 1998, Shirley and Maury moved to Caversham Heights, United Kingdom for a year as Maury was a visiting professor at the University of Reading. Shirley hosted friends and family for visits to London (only 45 minutes away) and other parts of the United Kingdom and Ireland. Michelle spent the fall as a student at the University of Reading and Kristin came in the Winter. Shirley and Kristin explored England and Scotland as a start, followed by a bus tour across Europe ending in Italy. This thoroughly enjoyable year concluded in the summer of 1999 with a move back to Columbia.

In 2000, Maury retired from the University of Missouri, spending time as a consultant to the University, and that opened opportunities for new adventures. That fall, Shirley and Maury spent four months at the Sultan Qaboos University in Oman. They enjoyed an interesting time there but returned to Columbia for Christmas.

In 2003, Shirley and Maury moved to Guelph, Ontario Canada. Shirley insisted she would move to Canada only if the house there had a swimming pool and a studio! A house was found with a pool, and a studio over the garage. They settled in for the next ten years as Canadians.

Shirley immediately found another lifelong friend, Betty Brinkman. They became an adventurous duo, leading excursions of friends to Mexican resorts and Caribbean cruises. Shirley Joy was active in the University Faculty Wives Club and a local Red Hat Society. The area offered many attractions with Niagara Falls among the most visited. Friends from France and the US together with family were frequent visitors.

The family grew with the addition of spouses and grandchildren. Kristin married Dustin Reed in 2006. Their daughter Madeleine was born in April 2009. They live in Columbia. Michelle married Joe Ezzell in September 2008. Lochlan arrived in June 2010 and Rowan in June 2013. The family moved to Gilroy California in 2015.

In 2013, Shirley and Maury moved back to Columbia.

Again, a swimming pool and studio were high on the list of necessary amenities in their new house. When a satisfactory house with a pool could not be found, they designed and built one the following summer. A bedroom was converted to a studio. Shirley’s Pool was the center of family activities with the grandkids learning to swim there. During the Pandemic, the pool and patio were deemed save to use and family and friends gathered there just about every weekend.

The third weekend in July became the annual gathering for Shirley’s Pool Party. Relatives came from both coasts, Illinois, Missouri and Indiana for a good time. The event was held annually until 2023. And, for sure, a good time was had by all!

Life was good! But then in the summer of 2022 Shirley suffered, first, a mild stroke and then a much more severe one that fall. Shirley spent months in the MU hospital followed by physical and mental rehabilitation. She moved to Eastwood (a skilled nursing facility) at Lenoir Woods in July 2023. Her ready smile and cheery outlook quickly gained her friends among the staff.

The medical staff at Lenoir Woods supported the family in their efforts to help Shirley adapt to her new life. The symptoms of Parkinson Disease began to complicate treatments.

On Monday November 18, Shirley went to the MU Hospital as she was unable to keep food down. On Thursday, a high level of a marker for cancer was found in liquids extracted from her abdomen. An MRI on Saturday revealed that the cancer was widespread and treatment was not possible. Shirley moved back to Lenoir on Tuesday and faded quickly.

Shirley Joy Bredahl completed her life in the early hours of November 29, 2024. She was comforted by her family and the staff at Lenoir Woods.