Surnames: Ziegler, Biebert, Trunkel, Thoma, Steiger, Eskildsen, Van Tatenhove, Lautenbach, Schultz, Zilk, Harder

----Sources: Marshfield News Herald (Marshfield, Wood County, Wis.) Fri, 1 April 2005

Ziegler, Shirley Ruth (17 Sept. 1940 - 30 March 2005)

NEILLSVILLE -Shirley R. Ziegler, 64, of Neillsville died Wednesday, March 30, 2005, at Saint Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield.

Funeral services for Shirley will be at 11:30 a.m. Monday, April 4, 2005, at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Neillsville. Pastor Timothy Biebert will officiate. Music will be provided by Judy Trunkel, organist and clarinetist, Dawn Thoma, soloist, and Ertz Steiger, soloist.

Interment will be in Neillsville City Cemetery. Casket bearers are her nephews, Erik Eskildsen, Nick Eskildsen, Scott Shirley, Todd Shirley, David Ziegler, Don Ziegler, Josh Ziegler, Steve Ziegler, Tim Ziegler and Gary Van Tatenhove.

Visitation will be from5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday at Gesche Funeral Home and from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Monday at the church.

Shirley Ruth Ziegler was born Sept. 17, 1940, in Granton, the daughter of Helmuth and Ruth (Lautenbach) Schultz. She attended Neillsville area schools and graduated from Neillsville High School in 1958. She was united in marriage to Ronald Ziegler on Aug. 22, 1959, in Neillsville. After marriage, she raised her family and worked several part-time jobs, including Avon. In 1970, she began working at the Wildcat Restaurant, first as a waitress and later as the main bartender. Shirley worked at Fannies Restaurant as the bar/hotel manager. She later worked as a youth counselor at Sunburst Youth Homes in Neillsville, and eventually as a certified nursing assistant at the Memorial Medical Center in Neillsville.

Shirley was a member of St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Neillsville. She just had recently become a member of the American Legion Auxillary. Shirley was the kind of person who just liked helping other people. She did lots of home health care for the elderly and disabled. She was very involved in the service clubs of Neillsville with her husband. She loved the outdoors, especially gardening, flowers, hunting, four-wheeling and horseback riding. She enjoyed playing the piano and learning to tap dance.

Her main love in life, however, was her family. She loved her children and grandchildren and she was a very loving mother and grandmother.

She is survived by her husband, Ronald; two daughters, Tamara (Bill) Ziegler-Zilk of Neillsville and Tracy (Brad) Ziegler-Harder of Appleton; two grandchildren, Lizabeth Ruth Ziegler-Zilk and Lars Harder; and one sister, Marvy (George) Van Tatenhove of Minnetonka, Minn. Shirley also is survived by many nieces and nephews and grandnieces and grandnephews, and many, many friends.

Shirley was preceded in death by a son, Mark, in 1983; her parents; and a nephew, Jason Eskildsen.