Shirley Vance Shoesmith, 88, of Perry passed away Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022, at the Kavanagh House in Des Moines, Iowa.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, Sept. 24 at 11 a.m. at the Carris Family Funeral Home and Cremation Care in Perry, with visitation beginning at 9:30 a.m. until the time of the service. Burial will be at the Union Cemetery in Guthrie Center, Iowa, on Saturday.
Shirley Vance Shoesmith was born Dec. 30, 1933, in Harlan, Iowa, to John T. and Bessie (Sheeder) Christianson.
She attended school at Harlan High School.
Shirley was united in marriage to Arthur Richard Shoesmith at the Methodist Church in Harlan on Oct. 9, 1953.
She worked as a cook for Dexfield Community School for 17 years and at Ben Franklin in the material department in Perry for several years.
Shirley was a member of the Perry Piece Makers Quilt Guild and the Questers, and she volunteered at Forest Park Museum.
She enjoyed quilting, sewing, China painting, antiquing and baking cookies for her family and friends.
In death she rejoins her husband, Dick Shoesmith; and her parents, John and Bessie Christianson.
Left to cherish Shirley’s memory are her children, Lori (Jeff) McMullin of Urbandale and Mendy (Denis) Ritzman of Creston; grandchildren, Sean and Leslie McMullin of Urbandale, Jeromie (Alisha) Ritzman and their children, Hailey, Conner and Riley, of Greeley, Colorado, and Jessica Ritzman and her children, Torrin, Coraline and William, of Urbandale.
Memorials will be given to her family and may be left at the funeral home. Online condolences may be left at www.carrisfuneralhome.com.
