Shirley A. Willenborg (95) of Lillyville

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, November 13, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Lillyville. On Friday, November 12, 2021, there will be a visitation from 4-7 p.m. at Johnson Funeral Home in Effingham. Burial will be in the Sacred Heart Church Cemetery in Lillyville. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the building fund at Sacred Heart Church in Lillyville. Online condolences may be left by clicking here.

Shirley was born February 5, 1926, the daughter of Bernard and Theresa (Verdeyen) Bushue, of rural Mason. She married Virgil H. Willenborg September 5, 1945, at St. Anne’s Catholic Church, in Edgewood and lived the next 75+ years in Lillyville. Shirley was a member of the CCW Ladies Sodality at Sacred Heart Church in Lillyville, a member of the Franciscan Secular Order at St. Francis Church in Teutopolis, and volunteered for many years at Catholic Charities in Effingham. She enjoyed her family and neighbors, reading her books, and playing cards with friends. 

Survivors include her children, Carol (Ken) Brummer, Fr. Henry Willenborg, OFM, Laura (James) Niendiek, Bernard (Marian) Willenborg, Dolores (Bill) Kreke, Connie Levitt, Richard (Anna Mae) Willenborg, Brenda (Jeff) Weishaar, and Dorothy (Sam) Haarman; her sister, Lavonne Kramer; three brothers, Lester Bushue, Lee (Louise) Bushue, and Eugene Bushue; three sisters-in-law, Martha Bushue, Nellie Donsbach, and Linda Willenborg; and a brother-in-law, Henry Verdeyen. She is also survived by 31 grandchildren, 64 great-grandchildren, three step great-grandchildren, one great-great-grandson and four step great-great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. 

Shirley was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Virgil; two daughters, Mary Ann (infant) and Sr. Jeanette Willenborg, OSF; four sisters, Clementine Boone, Irene Driskell, Wilma Spirakes, and Rosie King; and four brothers, Paul (as infant), Emery (KIA in WWII), Earl, and Jerry Bushue.