Shirley Greufe

Shirley Ann Burke Greufe, 85, Webster City, died April 5, 2017, at Mary Greeley Hospital in Ames. Mass of Christian Burial will be Wednesday, April 12 at 10:30 AM at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church with Rev. Stephen Meyer officiating. Visitation is scheduled for Tuesday at St. Thomas Aquinas beginning at 5:00 PM with a Recitation of the Rosary at 4:45 PM and a scripture service at 7:00 PM. Burial will follow the funeral luncheon at Calvary Cemetery in Webster City. Shirley Ann Burke Greufe, daughter of Patrick and Ida Marie (Beebe) Burke was born August 16, 1931 at Sioux City. She attended the Blairsburg Consolidated School and also, the Prairie Mound rural school near Homer. She graduated from Webster City High School in 1949. She then attended Iowa State University, graduating in 1952 with a B.S. degree in Home Economics Education. She taught school in Blairsburg and Garner. On January 3, 1953 she married Norman F. Greufe at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Webster City. They farmed near Blairsburg until 1955 when they moved to a farm near Homer, where they farmed until his retirement in 1994. She taught high school English and Home Economics at Central Webster High School in Burnside beginning in 1970 until her retirement in 1994. She was preceded in death by her husband in December 1994, and her son, John Greufe, in September 1989. Since 2001 until the time of her death, she lived in Webster City. She is survived by her daughters and sons-in-law, Kathy and Bob Josten of Webster City, Jeanne and Carl Hill of Webster City, Carolyn Greufe of Des Moines; sons and daughters-in-law, Tom and Vickie Greufe of Kansas City, MO, Jim and Nancy Greufe of Elkhorn, NE, Bob and Lori Greufe of Mesa, AZ and Tim Greufe of Parker, CO; 20 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren. Also, surviving are brothers and sisters-in-law, Marvin and Joyce Burke of Fort Dodge, and Rick Johnson of Minneapolis, MN and Linda Johnson of Litchfield, MN, and sisters-in-law and brother-in-law, Mary Ann McCoy of Orinda, CA and Barbara and Ron Songer of Denison. She enjoyed reading, art and angel collecting, scrapbooking, philanthropy, genealogy, volunteering, hosting celebrations, spending time with family, vacations at the lake, and extensive travel. She toured European countries more than a dozen times, enjoyed more than 10 Caribbean cruises and toured Egypt. She was an active member of St. Thomas Aquinas Church, past president of the Webster City Women's Club, member of the FB Neighborhood Club, and member of the American Association of University Women. In 2013, she wrote and published her autobiography. Memorials may be directed to St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School or Kendall Young Library in memory of Shirley. Write a personal tribute for the family at www.fosterfuneralandcremation.com.