Shirley Welker
November 12, 1950 — February 16, 2019
Shirley Louise Welker, daughter of Isidore and Meritta Madeline (Hendricks) Schwarte, was born on November 12,1950 in Harlan, Iowa. She was baptized and confirmed at St. Michael’s Catholic Church and attended school in Harlan and while in school worked for Moran’s Cleaning. Shirley graduated from Harlan Community High School with the class of 1969 and then attended cosmetology school for a short period and worked for Capital City Fruit in Des Moines.
On April 29, 1973, Shirley was united in marriage to Larry Welker and after their marriage they made their home in Des Moines. In 1993, Shirley returned to Harlan where she began working at Variety Distributors and later in housekeeping at the Elm Crest Retirement Community.
Shirley loved her family and would be the first person to step up to help them or her friends without hesitation. She was a very detail oriented and feisty woman who had a filing system that went back well over thirty years and her house could never be clean enough. She enjoyed gardening, playing golf and spending time with her family and friends playing cards. She always had a close bond with her pets especially her cat Cleo who she had these last fourteen years. Shirley also enjoyed adding to her frog collection and was a big Oakland Raiders football fan.
Shirley died on Saturday, February 16, 2019 at the Myrtue Medical Center in Harlan, Iowa having attained the age of sixty-eight years, three months and four days. She was preceded in death by her parents.
She is survived by her brother Robert Schwarte of Hunting Beach, California; her sister Tami and her husband Bill Stinn of Westphalia, Iowa; nieces and nephews; other relatives and many friends.
On April 29, 1973, Shirley was united in marriage to Larry Welker and after their marriage they made their home in Des Moines. In 1993, Shirley returned to Harlan where she began working at Variety Distributors and later in housekeeping at the Elm Crest Retirement Community.
Shirley loved her family and would be the first person to step up to help them or her friends without hesitation. She was a very detail oriented and feisty woman who had a filing system that went back well over thirty years and her house could never be clean enough. She enjoyed gardening, playing golf and spending time with her family and friends playing cards. She always had a close bond with her pets especially her cat Cleo who she had these last fourteen years. Shirley also enjoyed adding to her frog collection and was a big Oakland Raiders football fan.
Shirley died on Saturday, February 16, 2019 at the Myrtue Medical Center in Harlan, Iowa having attained the age of sixty-eight years, three months and four days. She was preceded in death by her parents.
She is survived by her brother Robert Schwarte of Hunting Beach, California; her sister Tami and her husband Bill Stinn of Westphalia, Iowa; nieces and nephews; other relatives and many friends.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Shirley Welker, please visit our flower store.