Shirley May Chaffee, 73, of Burlington, passed away in the early morning hours on Monday, January 10, 2022 at Comfort Care of Sterling Heights.
A funeral service will be held on Friday, January 14, 2022 at 11:00 AM at Lighthouse Funeral & Cremation in Union City, with Pastor Jayme Palaszeski from the Union City United Methodist Church officiating. Interment will follow at Abscota Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 3:00-7:00 PM on Thursday, January 13, 2022 at Lighthouse Funeral & Cremation in Union City. The family asks that guests wear a mask to both events. The services will be livestreamed at; https://www.hdezwebcast.com/
Shirley was born December 15, 1948 at her mother’s home in Burlington, Michigan to Edward Lee Romans and Rose Marie Spooner. On October 20, 1967 she married Jim Freds. They had three sons, Rick, John and James. Jim died in an auto accident March 20, 1976. On June 4, 1977, Shirley married Bruce Chaffee. They were happily married for 44 years. Of the many things Shirley had a passion for, her family and friends came first. She was active in both the Union City and Marshall United Methodist churches. She loved keeping a clean house and cooking for her family.
Always a lover of animals, Shirley had exotic birds, pygmy goats, miniature horses, llamas, cats and dogs; too many to count. She enjoyed quilting, singing, dancing and playing cards. She especially enjoyed beating the pants off her husband when they played Canasta. She also enjoyed gardening, yard work, house plants, old movies and country music. Shirley returned to night school in 1995 and earned her GED. She was always a hard worker and worked a variety of jobs: lunchroom and playground supervisor at Union City Elementary, cook at McRae’s Restaurant in Union City and at The Melting Pot Restaurant in Burlington, where she also made and delivered donuts and coffee to local businesses.
Shirley was a machine operator at Bendix in Coldwater, did light assembly at Handy & Harmon in Angola, and was a pet salesperson at Dr. Pet in Lakeview Square Mall, where she was top in sales several times. She also raised and sold miniature poodles for a few years. Additionally, Shirley worked at Miss Wigglehopper’s Day Care for a few years, then switched to doing adult foster care. Recently, she worked part-time at Stoney Maple Childcare.
Shirley is survived by her husband, Bruce Chaffee of Burlington; her sons, Rick (Kathy) Freds of Burlington, John (Chris) Freds of Oxford and James (Mindi) Freds of DeWitt, VA; three brothers, Roger (Mary) Hughes, Leo (Carol) Hughes and Robert Hughes, all of Burlington; 11 grandchildren; numerous great-grandchildren; several nieces and nephews; brother-in-law Mike Chaffee; and sister-in-law Bonnie Covert, both of Battle Creek.
She was preceded in death by her parents; grandparents; brothers, Floyd Hughes, Lloyd Hughes and Clarence Hughes; sisters-in-law, Patricia Hughes and Wilma Hughes; mother-in-law, Mary Chaffee; one niece; two nephews; aunts and uncles; and too many friends.
Memorial donations are suggested to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place Memphis, TN 38105 or to the SPCA, 6955 KL Avenue, Kalamazoo, MI 49009.
Please visit www.lighthousefuneral.com to share memories, pictures and videos with the family.
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