Shirley E. Kelly

Shirley Edith Livens Kelly, age 81, of 107 South Division Street, Monmouth, IA, passed away at 11:05 a.m. on Sunday, February 13, 2022. She passed away at home due to an internal medical condition that has been managed for the last four years.
Shirley was born at her grandmother’s home located at 1156 Elm Street in Lancaster, WI. Grandmother, Sarah (Jones) Jeardeau raised her to become the mother that we are laying to rest today. May her soul rest in peace until we meet again. She was the daughter of Allen and Hazel (Jeardeau) Livens. Shirley married Kenneth G. Kelly on July 2, 1990 in Dubuque, IA. He was the best husband to come into her life and she cherished every moment with him and missed him dearly.
Shirley worked at Dynagear in Maquoketa until her husband Kenny passed away, at which time she retired. She enjoyed watching Westerns, doing crossword puzzles, collecting knickknacks, and driving around in her VW bug going to garage sales. Most of all, she was a loving, caring and giving mother and lived a simple and quiet life in Iowa.
The only consolation that we have is the sweet realization of the fact that she is at peace. Our mother is now in the land where the weary are at rest. Happiness comes when we think that she has heard the words from the Father’s lips, “Well done thou good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of our Lord.”
Shirley is survived by her siblings: Fred Livens and Donna (Dwayne) King, of Boscobel, WI; Julie E. Bottoms of Platteville, WI; Tony Livens of Dubuque, IA; her sons: Dirk of California; David of Monmouth, IA; Shane of Dubuque, IA; daughters: Chris of Dubuque, IA; Michelle Brady of North Carolina; Jenness Wiersma of North Carolina; Rebecca Kelly of Dubuque, IA. Mother with 8 children, that had 15 grandchildren, to become 19 great-grandchildren. She did have the chance to meet them all, but if she could, she would have held them close and loved them all; she loved their pictures she had in her books. It meant a lot to have them.
Shirley was preceded in death by her parents, Allen and Hazel Livens, and her husband Ken Kelly in 2000, a brother, Melvin Levins in 2021, a sister, Crystal L. Ambrosy in 2011, and her son, Todd A. Wiersma in 1980. May God be with her. Psalm 23.
There will be no public visitation or funeral. Burial will be held on Sunday, May 8, 2022, at Hillside Cemetery in Lancaster from 12:00 p.m. Noon until 2:00 p.m. There are more than 63+ family members laid to rest there.