Shirley Darlene (Velure) Willson, 87, passed away surrounded by her children on Sunday, October 22. She lived independently until she became ill the week prior. Visitation will be at 10:00 AM and the memorial service at 11:00 AM, Saturday, October 28, 2023, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Valley City.  The service will be live streamed, then archived, on a link provided along with her obituary on her tribute page at www.lerudmathias.com.  An online guestbook is available there as well.  She will be laid to rest in Memory Gardens Cemetery near Valley City.

She was born on the family farm near Hastings, ND, on April 4, 1936, to William and Dorothy (Larson) Velure. She attended and graduated from Hastings High School in 1955 and attended Interstate Business College.

In 1957, she married Jack Willson and they moved to Fargo while Jack attended college. They later moved to Valley City, where they raised their four children: Joanne, Jack, Janelle, and Janis.

Shirley worked as a copy editor at the Valley City Times-Record for 16 years and later at Leever's Super Valu, choosing to retire just before she turned 80. She was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Valley City.

Shirley is survived by her four children: Joanne (Dale) Jorissen, of Leal, ND; Jack (Amy) Willson, of Ottertail, MN; Janelle (Calvin) Jensen, of Grand Forks, ND, and Janis (George) LeBlanc, of Frederick, MD. She also is survived by sisters-in-law, Beverly Velure, Arlene "Lennie" Velure, Mary Jean Willson, and Judy Dauer, and brother-in-law Robert Willson.  She has 18 grandchildren, 52 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild with another on the way.

She was preceded in death by her parents, William and Dorothy; her brothers, Clayton, Robert (Bev), and John "Jack" Velure, and Jack Willson.