Shirley M. Bebermeyer Holle, 84, passed away on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015 at Hiawatha, KS. She was born on the family farm north of Hiawatha on Sept. 8, 1931, one of three children born to the late Herbert and Viola Koelliker Bebermeyer.
Shirley attended Hart 33 country school near Reserve, KS, where she graduated from the eighth grade prior to graduating from Hiawatha High School with the Class of 1949. She later graduated from Baker University in 1953 with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in history. While at Baker, she was active in Tri-Delta Sorority and with Delta Delta Delta. Shirley taught school for 10 years at Welda, Barnes, Reserve and later Powhattan, where she resigned in the spring 1969.
She enjoyed traveling, playing bridge, and was an avid KU basketball fan. She was full of life and the type of person that made a lasting impression once you met her. Most of all, she did NOT act her age!
She married Verlin Holle on April 9, 1955 at Hiawatha. They farmed and raised hogs north of Hiawatha, however, Shirley will be real quick to say it was Verlin that farmed…not her! She took a job with the State of Kansas in Hiawatha in 1969, started as a social worker, and retiring in 1993 as a supervisor for the income/maintenance division, then known as SRS or Social and Rehabilitative Services.
Verlin died on June 20, 2001.
Survivors include a son, David (Laura) Holle, and a brother, Chuck (Jane) Bebermeyer, all of rural Hiawatha; three grandchildren, Shawn (Jill), Jeremey (Kathy) and Amber Holle; two great-grandchildren, Hunter Verlin and Allison Annabelle Holle; and five nieces and nephews, Jody, Tedd, Sara, Julie, and Michelle.
She was preceded in death by her husband; parents; and a brother, Robert “Tony” Bebermeyer on Jan. 12, 2014.
It was Shirley’s wish to be buried privately with her family and close friends present. She will be buried next to Verlin at Mt. Hope Cemetery. The family met with friends on Saturday, Jan. 2, at Chapel Oaks Funeral Home in Hiawatha. Following visitation, Shane Spangler reflected on Shirley’s life.
Memorial contributions are suggested to Holle Farm Scholarship Fund at Hiawatha High School, or Baker Foundation Tri-Delta Scholarship Fund, sent in care of the funeral home, 124 S. 7th St., Hiawatha 66434.
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