Shirley Holzinger

Shirley M. Holzinger, age 90, passed away Tuesday, April 4, 2017, at Grant Regional Health Center in Lancaster. Just as Shirley was always a step ahead of everyone, she had written her obituary in her own words:

I was born in Beetown Township on October 5, 1926, the daughter of Charles and Viola (Spiegelberg) Johnson. I attended the Five Points one-room school house for eight years and later attended and graduated from Lancaster High School in 1944. I received my RN degree from St. Luke's Hospital, Chicago, IL, in 1947. I then returned to Lancaster and was a RN with doctors Carey and Becker. I also resumed my romance with my high school sweetheart, Loren Holzinger, who had recently returned having enlisted in the US Navy. I married Loren on June 9, 1948, and we began farming at Hurricane with four cows and a tractor. To this union, after four years of waiting and wishing, along came Nancy, Chuck and Peggy. Our family lived at Hurricane until moving to the Johnson family farm at Five Points in 1959. We were then blessed with two more children, Linda and David. THAT WAS ENOUGH!! I also worked for seven years at the former Lancaster Memorial Hospital and then for four years at the Lancaster Care Center. Loren and I retired and moved to Lancaster in 1989, after David and his wife, Lynn, purchased our family farm. After 20 years in Lancaster, I lost my partner, best friend, and the love of my life. We shared so many great memories during our 61 years together. We lived for the visits from our children, grandchildren, and cherished the memories we created with them. We enjoyed our fishing trips to Balsam Lake and our time spent at our cottage in Prairie du Chien. It's been a great ride, many thanks to family and friends for everything. God Bless! -Shirley

Survivors include her children: Nancy (Tim) Coles, Denton, NE; Chuck Holzinger, Madison, WI; Peggy (Greg) Jackson, Loyal, WI; Linda Holzinger, Cheyenne, WY; David (Lynn) Holzinger, Lancaster, WI; 10 grandchildren; 9 great-grandchildren and another great-granddaughter on the way; many nieces and nephews.

Shirley was preceded in death by her parents, Charles and Viola Johnson; her loving husband, Loren; her dear sister, Margaret Lipp; and many members of the Holzinger family.

Funeral services were on Friday, April 7, 2017, at 11:00 a.m. at Martin Schwartz Funeral Home & Crematory, 1234 S Madison St., Lancaster, with Pastor Mark Hoehne officiating. Burial was at Hillside Cemetery, Lancaster. Family and friends called on Friday from 9:00 a.m. until time of services at the funeral home. In lieu of plants and flowers, memorials may be given to Grant Regional Health Center or the First Presbyterian Church.