Shirley Mae Colwell

Shirley Mae Colwell, 85, of South Sioux City, Nebraska was united with her precious Jesus on Saturday, December 14th, 2024. Visitation will take place from 5pm-7pm, with the funeral service taking place immediately after that on Tuesday, December 17th at Sunnybrook Church in Sioux City, Iowa. A private family burial will take place at Grace Hill Cemetery in Hawarden, Iowa.

Meyer Brothers Funeral Home in Sioux City is assisting the family. Flowers can be sent directly to Sunnybrook Church in Sioux City, Iowa. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations be made to the Lewy Body Dementia Association (LBDA) in honor of Shirley Colwell. Contributions can be made at dementiasociety.org. Your support will help advance research and provide assistance to those affected by this condition.

The bases, which are permanently indented in the ground from so much use, are loaded. Randy’s on the pitcher’s mound and throws one of his best knuckle balls. “Crack” the bat hits the ball and it soars over the fence, over the raspberry bushes and into Warren’s yard next door. The cheers can be heard all over the neighborhood and it’s not a surprise that a large number of kids have gathered at the Colwell house having another competitive whiffle ball game. The crowd is made up of Tara and Tiffany’s friends, cheering on the older kids as they argue about who was safe or picked off throughout the game. Going in and out of the house is Shirley (mom) making snacks and lemonade for all of those there. The sounds of laughter and fun echo up and down 33rd street.

The Colwell house was referred to as “Grand Central Station” as there was never a time it wasn’t filled with people there to talk and visit, or just to find a safe place to be themselves. Shirley was ‘mom’ and ‘friend’ to all that knew her and made it a point to make everyone feel comfortable. If there wasn’t something baking in the oven, there was peanut brittle being made to sell, or tomatoes, peaches, and pears being canned, there were raspberries being picked for pies. If you were fortunate, you would be able to see her left-over food sitting on her deck to feed the neighborhood squirrels, which would eat Oreos right out of her hand. This tradition with the squirrels was passed on from generation to generation with kids and grandkids taking part in feeding them out of their hands.

Shirley Mae Colwell was born on November 2, 1939 in Sioux City, Iowa. She was the second daughter of three, born to E.E. and Marie Woods. From the very early age of 4 years, she began her life-long love of dancing. Her mom would take her to Sioux City for tap dance and acrobats every Saturday, and would even travel as far as Omaha, for dance competitions. She continued dancing up until the last few months of her life. Her family knew that unless there was a grandkids’ football, baseball, soccer, or basketball game on a Friday night, she’d be getting all dressed up to dance at the Eagles Club in South Sioux. She loved to get her hair and nails done to go dancing and she made sure she always wore the right shoes that would help her scoot across the floor with ease. She was able to do many different dances, but some of her favorites were the Chukka Chukka, the Triple-Two, the one-two Cha Cha, and the two-step. One of her most accomplished feats, was to continue to show off her skills of doing a headstand, which marked every birthday, up until she was 65 years of age.

Shirley graduated from South Sioux City High School in 1957. Her first job was as a Soda Jerk at the local Zesto in South Sioux, where at times she was managing it at the age of 15. She married Roger Edwin Colwell in 1958 and had five beautiful children, Rick, Randy, Rob, Tiffany, and Tara. After many years of caring for her kids, she decided to work as a school cook at the South Sioux City Middle School. Shirley spent most of her working career in Accounts Payable at IBP and retired there after 20 years. Retirement was no time for her to slow down though. She attended her grandkids’ sporting and school events, traveled and shopped with her two daughters, and spent time laughing and loving life. Shirley has embedded in her children and grandchildren her contagious and beautiful laugh that we all hear ring through the stories that we share.

Shirley is survived by her five children, Rick (Eena) Colwell of Sioux City, Iowa, Randy (Pam) Colwell of South Sioux City, Nebraska, Rob (Deb) Colwell of Branson, Missouri, Tiffany (Johnny) Millikan of Hawarden, Iowa, and Tara (Justin) Andrews of Omaha, Nebraska. She also leaves behind her treasured grandchildren, Riley Colwell, Alec Colwell, Nate Colwell, Sarah Colwell, Drake Millikan, Colton Andrews, Avery Millikan, Kennedy Andrews, and Emaan Colwell.

Shirley is proceeded in death by her parents and her sister, Betty Tuttle.

God shared Shirley with us for 85 years and in those years she never once forgot that she was a Child of God and was meant to spread the love of Jesus.