Shirley Walsh

Shirley Walsh, age 94, of Atwater, died Tuesday afternoon, October 9, at her home in Atwater.

Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Friday, October 19, at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Atwater.  Interment will be at Union Cemetery in Atwater. Visitation will be 5-8 p.m. Thursday, October 18, at Peterson Brothers Atwater Funeral Home in Atwater and will continue one hour prior to the service at the church.  Memorials are preferred to the Immanuel Lutheran Church Kitchen Fund or Atwater Area Help for Seniors.

Shirley Viola Walsh was born February 16, 1924, in Atwater, Minnesota, the daughter of Ben and Ethel (Carlson) Holm. She graduated from Atwater High School and continued her education at Macalester College and the University of Minnesota, earning a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. Shirley married her high school sweetheart, Gene Walsh, on December 28, 1947 at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Atwater.

Shirley served the children of Atwater as a kindergarten and first grade teacher for many years. She was an active volunteer. She helped found the Atwater Block Nurse Program which later became Atwater Area Help for Seniors. She also volunteered with the Historical Society and worked with children when wintering in Texas.

Shirley was a lover of people and a collector of friends. She was rarely still and loved to laugh. She enjoyed golfing, Bible study, traveling, cooking and baking, singing in church choir, reading, having coffee, gardening, and getting together with friends to play bridge, canasta, or Mexican Train. She took pride in her children and grandchildren and loved gathering them together for holidays, weekly Sunday dinners after church, or at the family cottage on Green Lake.

Cherishing Shirley’s memory are her children: Peggy Starz and Pat Walsh (Sandy), both of Atwater; five grandchildren: Katie Starz Boonstra (Nathan), Betsy Starz Thayer (Tyrone), Michael Walsh (Angela), Carolyn Starz (Nathaniel Anderson), and Ryan Walsh (Liz Gerling);  six great-grandchildren: Sam and Ben Boonstra, Bridget and Matilda Thayer, Inga Starz, and Mickey Walsh; a sister-in-law: Sharon Holm of Atwater; and many friends and relatives in the community.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband: Gene Walsh in 1988; a sister: Carol Nupson; two brothers: John Holm and Gerald Holm; and a great-grandson: James Starz.