Shirley Ann (Brondyke) Woodruff

Shirley Ann Woodruff passed away peacefully on September 2, 2021, at the Rose Arbor Residence in Kalamazoo. Shirley was born February 24, 1936, in Kalamazoo, the daughter of the late Neil and Catherine (Dykehouse) Brondyke. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her brother, Neil Brondyke, Jr., her son Mark S. Woodruff, grandsons; LCPI Mark R. Woodruff, Brent Martin Woodruff, Lance Hitchcock, great grandson Leigh Crisman Hitchcock and great granddaughter Paige Hitchcock.
She is survived by her fiancée’, Ralph Parker of Marcellus, her son; Michael (Susan) Woodruff of Lawton, granddaughter Michelle (Andy) Barber of Mattawan, son, Scott (Cheryl) Woodruff of Lawton, granddaughter, Heather Martin of Lawton, daughter, Cathy (Chuck) Kluting of Marne, grandson, Chad (Beverly) Hitchcock of Allegan, several great grandchildren and one great great grandchild, sister, Janet Gould of Kalamazoo, brother Ed (Jean) Brondyke of Newberry.
Shirley retired from Bronson Methodist Hospital in 1995 where she worked in the nursing administration department as an executive secretary. She loved gardening and worked endlessly every spring and summer to make her gardens beautiful for all to enjoy. She not only enjoyed painting scenic pieces of art but loved taking on any project that could be salvaged by a coat of paint. She loved sewing and quilting, she made several quilts and wall hangings that decorated her home. After a stroke in 2018 left her partially blind in each eye, she thought her quilting days were over, but somehow, she persevered and managed to make four quilts for her great grandsons, one of which she just recently finished. She also volunteered at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to sew cloth face masks for the Oshtemo Fire Department.  Shirley loved living next door to her grandkids, traveling with them, enjoying all their activities and watching them grow up into adults. But her real passion was her “boys” as she called them, her four great grandsons, Henry, Ben, Grayson, and Rex Barber. They were the joy of her life and she said they kept her young. Shirley reconnected with her longtime friend, Ralph Parker and they became engaged in August of 2020.
Cremation has taken place. There will be a visitation held Saturday, November 13, 2021 beginning at 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church M-40, Lawton, where a memorial service will commence at 11:00 a.m. Burial will follow at Oak Grove Cemetery with a luncheon back at the church. Memorial contributions may be directed to Hospice Care of Southwest Michigan.