- Date Of Death: January 13, 2012
- State: Illinois
Shirley J. Nelson, age 81, of Batavia passed away Friday, January 13, 2012 at Delnor Community Hospital in Geneva.
She was born April 25, 1930 in West Allis, Wisconsin, the daughter of Emil and Hildur (Soder) Johnson.
After graduating from high school in 1948, she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in English and History from Northern Arizona University where she was an active member of the sorority, Gamma Phi Beta. Shirley was also a model and contestant in such pageants as Miss Wisconsin and Alice in Dairyland.
A lifelong lover of education, Shirley attended numerous graduate schools and went on to earn her teaching certificate. She was a devoted and dedicated middle school teacher in California, Wisconsin and Illinois up until her daughter’s birth in 1962.
Shirley was an ardent environmentalist, with a fervor for nutrition, health and fitness.
Shirley loved classical music, art and literature a” especially poetry and children’s fiction. She has been published in various periodicals, including Ranger Rick and Highlights and up until her death, was writing a story about her beloved Sweden.
She is survived by her daughter, Lisa (Ed Sandall) Nelson of LaGrange. She was a loving grandmother to Luke, Linnea and Erik and will be dearly missed by her many loyal friends and cherished cousins.
She was preceded in death by her parents and her husband, Arthur K. Nelson, Ph.D. who passed away November 6, 2009.
