Shirley Austin Obituary, Death – Shirley Maxine Austin, age 93, passed away unexpectedly on Thursday, January 26, 2023, at the Covenant Healthcare Center – Cooper in Saginaw, Michigan. She was surrounded by her family at the time of her passing.
St. Louis, Michigan was her home at the time. Funeral Services will be held at the Smith Family Funeral Homes-St. Louis Chapel in St. Louis, Michigan at eleven in the morning on Friday, February 3, 2023. The chapel is located in St. Louis, Michigan. The ceremony is going to be presided over by Pastor Lee Rhodes. At the interment that will take place at the Jasper Township Cemetery, there won’t be anyone there to witness it. Visitation will be held at the funeral home on Thursday, February 2, 2023, from 4 to 8 P.M., and then again on Friday, February 3, 2023, from 10:00 A.M. until the time of the service. Both visits will take place on Friday, February 3, 2023.
Shirley was born on the 13th of May, and her parents are Mark Marshall Young and Julia Beth (Hetherington) Young. Shirley’s birthday is May 13th. Shirley was born in the town of Shepherd in the state of Michigan. Shepherd High School was where she completed her secondary school. At the Stickland Baptist Church on the 21st of December in 1946, Shirley and John “Jack” Austin were wed and began their lives together as husband and wife. Their marriage proved to be successful in the end, as it resulted in the delivery of two beautiful girls named Kay Lorraine and Carol Ann.
In Alma, Shirley worked for the J.J. Newberry Company and, later, for the W.T. Grant Company, where she was engaged right up until the latter company went out of business. In the past, she was involved with the Alma VFW Women’s Auxiliary member of the organization. She sold Avon items to her friends, family, and neighbors over the course of a number of years and enjoyed financial success as a result. Crocheting and going camping were two of Shirley’s most cherished pastimes that she shared with her family.
She is survived by her daughters, Kay (John) Criswell of St. Louis, Michigan, and Carol (David “Chip”) Aldrich of St. Louis, Michigan; two grandsons, Scott (Robbin) Ewer of Howard City, Michigan, and Jon (Jennifer) Aldrich of St. Louis, Michigan; three great-grandsons, two great-granddaughters, and two great-great-granddaughters; and several nieces and nephews. She was born Virgilene Hanson in Crandon, Wisconsin, and her only sister, who is also her sole living relative, has since passed away.
She was predeceased by her husband, Jack, her parents, granddaughter Jodi Lynn Aldrich Aikens, great-grandson Jeremy Lee Ward, as well as her sisters and brothers-in-law, Eileen (Ronald) Shaver, Zelma (Robert) Nestle, Wilma (Bruce) Welch, and Terry Hanson. She is survived by her great-grandson Jeremy Lee Ward and granddaughter Jodi Lynn Aldrich Aikens Her great-grandson Jeremy Lee Ward is the only living relative she leaves behind.