Shirley Mae Heidenfelder

She was born on January 18, 1938, to Agatha and Albert in the small town of Breese, IL. As the daughter of a coal miner and factory worker, Shirley learned the meaning of hard work, self-sacrifice, and dedication to family at an early age when she had to drop out of school in the 8th grade to get a job and help support the family during tough economic times. Lessons which became the very foundation of who she was and how she lived every day of her life.

She was tough and determined, willing to do any type of work to survive whether that meant working in the unbearable heat of a cleaners, moving boxes as a receiving clerk, or working as the “lunch lady” in a school kitchen. She was always thankful to have a job and took pride in being able to provide for herself and her 3 boys. So much so she didn’t retire until she was 82 years old.

But nothing brought her more joy than being a Mom. She loved her 3 boys with all her heart and in her eyes, they could do no wrong. No matter how hard they tried. And as busy as she was as a single parent she never missed any of their events. Even if that meant going to a wrestling match, 2 soccer games and making dinner on a Saturday after working all week. She took pride in doing that for her boys. To her that was the meaning of success.

Shirley loved animals and had a number of pets over the years. There were the dogs-Snoopy, Toby, Otis, Ginger, Almond, Cinnamon, Rosie and the cat-Tigger. They all felt her love and kindness which meant sleeping on the bed with her, table scraps from dinner, occasionally a little hamburger grease on top of the kibble or maybe a slice of American cheese which was according to her “good for their coat”.

Now Shirley herself was not a good eater. Some of her favorites included-packaged cheese & crackers, pinwheels, individually wrapped Kraft American cheese slices, Haagen Dazs ice cream, Suzy Q’s, chocolate covered raisins, root beer and KFC mashed potatoes and gravy to name a few. Her attitude was to “eat food that makes you happy”.

Shirley thrived on writing notes and reminders about everything. If you were to tell her about something she would instantly be looking for a pen and some paper to write it down. At any one time she would have 10-20 notes laying around. Even though she didn’t really need them because she had a fantastic memory which stayed with her until the day she died.

She was thrifty and loved shopping at secondhand stores and going to garage sales. Never settling for the marked price, she would barter to pay a nickel for a 10-cent item.

She was surprisingly funny with an understated sense of humor and might be the only Grandma I know to sit in on a game of Cards Against Humanity.

She believed owls protected your home and that you should carry a St. Christopher medal for safe travels.

She loved to cook and if there was something of hers you liked then it was a guarantee she would make it for your birthday every year.

She was always wanting to be active and doing things for other people. Unfortunately, it became physically difficult for her to remain active in the last couple of years and that took a toll on her emotionally. She was not the kind of person who liked having others do for her because she could not do for herself. And once she began to feel helpless, she decided it was time to go.

Shirley is survived by her brother Donald, sons Steven and Gregory (Anna); grandchildren Wyatt, Colton, Elijah, Lyle (Adam), Emma, Dakota, Iris, Cameron, Ainslee, Woodson and Jackson; great-grandchild Lucy.

Funeral services for Shirley will be held at 11am on Saturday, April 30th at Olinger Mt. Lindo Cemetery in Morrison, CO.