Shirley Arends

Shirley A. Arends, 85, of Marshalltown, passed away Saturday, July 31, 2021 at Grandview Heights Rehab and Healthcare under the care of Hospice of Midwest. A funeral service for Shirley will be held at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, August 7th at Journey Church with burial to follow at Rose Hill Memorial Gardens. The public is also invited to her vistation from 12:00 p.m. until service time Saturday at the church. Memorial contributions may be made to the Journey Church in Shirley's memory. The Mitchell Family Funeral Home has been entrusted with the care for Shirley and her family. For further information visit mitchellfh.com or call 641-844-1234. For those unable to attend, services will be available at the Mitchell Family Funeral Home Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Mitchell-Family-Funeral-Home-99280714047/. Born on April 4, 1936 in Hillman, Minnesota, Shirley was the daughter of Raymond and Martha (Nieken) Thompson. She grew up in Saint Cloud, Minnesota and graduated from high school there. She furthered her education at Northwestern Bible College in Minneapolis. In 1960 she made Marshalltown her home where she married Harold Arends at the First Baptist Church of Marshalltown on July 30, 1960 and started employment as bookkeeper at Clifton’s Grocery Store. After that, she was employed as the office manager at Marshall Pack and later in the accounts payable department at Lennox Industries. Shirley was an active member of the First Baptist Church, now named Journey Church and Women’s Ministries and the Truthseekers Connection Class. She enjoyed being an active member of the Women’s Bible Study at the Village Cooperative. Her passions were baking, bible study, shopping and spending time with her family. Those left to cherish her memory are her husband Harold, two daughters, Marlys (Kendall) Moore and Patricia (Phil) Richards; her grandchildren: Kyle (Lindsay Walters) Moore, Todd Moore, Alison Richards, Harrison (Kate) Richards and Amy Richards; five great grandchildren; her two sisters, Darlene (Jim) Henkemeyer and Sandy Nagel and many nieces and nephews. In eternal life, Shirley has been reunited with her parents; sister, Marian Handeland; her brother-in-law, David Nagel; her sisters-in-law: Elayne Gunderson and her husband, Norman and Audrey Stubbe and her husband, Wayne; and her brother-in-law, Roger and his wife, Phyllis Arends.