Shirley Ann Elliott

Following a long and courageous battle with cancer, Shirley Ann (Cole) Elliott went to be with the Lord on Friday, May 30, 2008. Shirley was born on August 8, 1940 in Phenix City, Alabama to Dan and Mary Ella (Macon) Cole. Dan and Mary Ella had three other children, all boys. In 1950, at the age of 9 years, Shirley relocated to Muskegon to be raised by her mother's sister, Jannie L. Kriger, and her husband, Thomas W. Kriger. Tom's was a large closely knit family so in addition to her Alabama family, who of course, remained in close touch, Shirley grew up with a number of honorary aunts, uncles, and cousins from Tom's side of the family, who will also miss her and remember her fondly. Shirley graduated from Muskegon High School in 1959. She almost immediately obtained employment at Sealed Power Corporation, working there as a secretary for 27 years. After leaving, she did call-in work as an executive secretary for another couple of years, officially retiring when her husband retired in 1988. She had married Stan Elliott, a fellow employee at Sealed Power, in 1980. Shirley and Stan had many happy years together. They liked to travel and see new things and to camp and enjoy the outdoors. They were accompanied frequently by family kids on their adventures, sometimes one or 2 kids, sometimes several of them; they enjoyed every minute of it. Shirley was a very loving, caring and unselfish person, one truly loved by all in the family. It seemed she was the 1st one thought of whenever anyone in the family needed advice or just simply someone to talk to, a burden to unload. Shirley is SURVIVED by her beloved husband, Stanley R. Elliott, and her brothers, Clyde Cole and Harold Cole, both of whom live in Phenix City, Alabama. She had many nieces and nephews and grand nieces and nephews, children of Clyde and Harold, that will miss her. Especially close, however, were the children of Harold: Cathy, DeAnna, William (Mark), Daniel, and Gina. Particularly close were Chad and Zack, Cathy's boys, who lived just a little bit down the road from Shirley and Stan's home. Shirley is also survived by her step-children, Tom, Susan, and Elizabeth, who between them have 6 grandchildren and a great- grandson. She cared deeply for them all; they knew it, and she will surely always be remembered lovingly and missed dearly. In addition to her parents, Shirley was preceded in death by a brother, Clifford Eugene Cole and by the aunt and uncle who raised her, Thomas and Jannie Kriger. A FUNERAL SERVICE will be held 11:00 AM Tuesday, June 3, 2008, at The Lee Chapel Sytsema Funeral Homes, Inc. 6291 S. Harvey Street (231) 798-1100 with Rev. John DeBoer officiating. INTERMENT will take place at Sunrise Memorial Gardens. VISITATION with the family will be 5-8 PM Monday and one hour prior to the service, 10-11 AM Tuesday. MEMORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS may be directed to Project Literacy US (PLUS), 355 Main Street, Hackensack, NJ 07601.