Funeral
Lakewood Cemetery Chapel-
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Email Details
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3600 Hennepin Avenue South
Minneapolis, -
Visitation one hour prior to service.
Shirley Jean Maruska
July 28, 1937 — August 8, 2021
Shirley Jean Maruska
Shirley Jean Maruska (age 84) died on Sunday, August 8, 2021. She passed peacefully, with dignity and grace in the arms of her family, as she entered the Kingdom of Heaven.
Shirley is survived by her loving husband of 63 (nearly 64) years, William Ogden Maruska, her adoring and equally as beautiful, identical twin sister Sherry Ann Risan, her daughters Kara Jean Richards and Gaylene (Peter) Terece Evans, son Billy Joseph Maruska, grandchildren Jesseli (Luke) Jean Jacobson, Alec (Josefine) Michael Richards, Carlton James Eide, Allyse Julene Eide, Cameron Avery Eide, and Luke Avery Boyd Johnson, great-grandchildren Walter Rolf Jacobson, Margaret Jean Jacobson, Lovisa Rose Richards, Hart Joseph Richards, and Colton Crawford Richards.
Shirley was born (minutes after her sister) on July 28, 1937, in the farming community of Parshall, North Dakota to Lewis Stephen and Lena Margaret Avery (Cooper). She attended the University of North Dakota where she studied nursing and was swept off her feet by her college sweetheart Bill. They were married on August 25, 1957, at the Lutheran church in Parshall, North Dakota. Soon after they moved to Texas where Bill served in the United States Air Force and studied meteorology at Texas A&M, then Kansas City, and finally settled in Minnetonka, MN where she lived for 61 years.
Shirley was a pre-school teacher to special needs children at St. David’s Church in Minnetonka, a Mary Kay director and consultant for 40 years, and the co-proprietor of Tonkadale Greenhouse from 1978 to 2016. Her legacy lives on as Tonkadale is still “world-famous all-over Minnetonka.”
Shirley loved to dance the jitterbug with her husband Bill, was a world traveler, and talented game scout on safari. She enjoyed the thrill of the hunt when searching out antiques, shopping for deals at sample sales, and was always planning a party in her head. While Tonkadale was her happy place, she also split her time “up at the lake” in Clitheral, MN and in Mesa, AZ next door to her twin sister Sherry.
Shirley relentlessly advocated and cared for her son Billy, who suffered a traumatic brain injury as a young adult, while providing him with the best quality of life possible. She demonstrated unconditional love for her family and gave her grandchildren the gift of self-expression because she knew they were “perfect, just perfect.”
Funeral Service Tuesday, August 17, 2021 at 10:00 AM at Lakewood Cemetery Memorial Chapel, 3600 Hennepin Avenue South, Minneapolis. Burial and Reception to follow. Visitation 1 hour prior to service
Please direct donations in Shirley’s memory to the Lupus Foundation of America. www.lupus.org
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Shirley Jean Maruska, please visit our flower store.
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