Shirley Jean Flader

MADISON-Shirley Flader was called to her heavenly home unexpectedly from Oak Park Place, on the morning of Saturday, April 18, 2020, after several years of declining mobility and hearing. She was born on Jan. 16, 1934, in South Dakota, the youngest of four children, to Emil and Clara Edelman. The family moved a few years later to a farm near Eau Claire where she walked to a two-room country school. Shirley worked for a few years after high school to earn money to attend Bible college in Fergus Falls, Minn., and to install indoor plumbing in the small house she shared with her mother. With financial help of a brother, she became a nurse, working in hospitals in Minneapolis and West Palm Beach. It was on her return to UW-Madison to earn a RN degree that she met her future husband, Bill. After their marriage in 1970, she was “liberated” from (regular, paid) work, but delivered mobile meals, became an Attic Angel volunteer, and for five years was teaching leader of Bible Study Fellowship, planning and delivering weekly lectures during the school year to about 100 women. With her husband she joined the ministry of The Gideons International in 1991, working in various leadership positions including state Gideon and auxiliary presidents for three years each. Many weekends were enjoyed at their lake cabin near Wautoma, where she could sometimes be persuaded to join Bill in the boat if the fish were biting and the mosquitos were not. Shirley is survived by her husband of 50 years Bill; nephews, Terry (Rita) and Steven (Karen) Edelman; niece, Vicky Ondell (Mike); sister-in-law, Lillian Edelman; and other relatives in Florida and South Dakota. She was preceded in death by her parents; brothers, Ivan and Morris Edelman; and an older sister who died in her youth of scarlet fever since penicillin was not widely available. If it were possible to hold a proper funeral, many women would likely share testimonies of the impact Shirley had on their lives through her teaching, mentoring, or just the example she set. A celebration of her life may be held at a later date. Memorial contributions may be gifted in Shirley’s name to Gideons International, P.O. Box 1, Waunakee, WI 53597. Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com. Gunderson East Funeral & Cremation Care 5203 Monona Drive (608) 221-5420