- Date Of Birth: April 12, 1927
- Date Of Death: September 8, 2021
- State: Indiana
Eleanor Shirley Marvin Freed died on the morning of September 8, 2021. She was 94 years old. Shirley was born in Ames, Iowa, April 12, 1927, to Kenneth R. Marvin and Eleanor Morning Marvin. After high school in Ames, Shirley attended Monticello College where she began her study of pottery, going on to graduate from Iowa State University with a bachelor’s degree in Fine Art. She then earned a Master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After graduating in 1950, Shirley joined the faculty at Purdue University, teaching pottery in the Art Department. In 1955 she married Lewis Freed. Together they had two sons, David and Mark. After leaving Purdue she taught pottery for many years at the Lafayette Art Center (now the Art Museum of Greater Lafayette). Along with former students Shirley founded the Wea Potters, who specialized in reproductions of eighteenth-century pottery. The Wea Potters were original participants at the Feast of the Hunters Moon. Shirley’s many adventures included living in Rome and England and multiple trips traveling throughout Europe. Later in life she organized and led tours of potteries in North Carolina, New Mexico, the UK, and Germany. Her other interests included a passion for fine cooking, bread baking, and knitting, as well as camping, canoeing, and cross-country skiing. In 2009 Shirley was predeceased by her husband after 54 years of marriage. She was also predeceased by her sisters Celia and Janis. Her surviving relatives include son David of Lafayette, son Mark and his wife Brooke Harrison of Mt.