Obituary of Shirley Jean Ellis Brumbaugh

Shirley was born April 2,1930 in Pittsburg, Kansas and died peacefully at St. Dominic Village, Houston, TX on April 23, 2024.  She was preceded in death by her parents Bessie May Clark Ellis and Cyrus Fields Ellis, her husband John A. Brumbaugh, Jr., a brother Chester Earl Ellis, and her two sisters Viola Wyland and Etta McCarty.  She is survived by her three sons, Mark Brumbaugh and wife Alice, Steven Brumbaugh and wife Beverly, and Scott Brumbaugh and wife Sandy, eleven grandchildren, and twenty-two great grandchildren.

She spent her early years in Pittsburg, Kansas except for a short time in Corpus Christi and Port Aransas, Texas as her father supported the war effort.  She graduated from Kansas State Teachers College in Pittsburg with an Associate Degree in Education and taught Elementary School until she became a stay-at-home Mom.

She married “Jack” on July 8,1950 and with him raised three sons.  Her family spent years in Kansas, Michigan, and Texas while Jack worked for Morton Salt Company.  Her activities included being a Hockey Mom, Cub Scout Den Mother, hikes in parks, summer vacations to  Great Lakes beaches and boating at Lake Hawkins in East Texas.  She loved to play bridge with her lady friends and spent many hours with her counted cross stitch and needlepoint.  Her family came first and she always had dinner ready at 5:00 pm sharp when Jack returned home from work.

Shirley was an active, faithful Catholic and always involved in her local parishes, serving in choirs and altar societies.  She was a member of PEO in both Hutchinson, Kansas and later in Wadsworth, Ohio where she and Jack retired.  They were quite active in their local parish, Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church.  Also, they delivered Meals on Wheels and drove seniors to medical appointments.

They enjoyed visiting parks in the Akron/Cleveland area and cross-country skiing in the winter.  They also traveled and Shirley realized her long awaited dream of seeing the pyramids in Egypt.  Their favorite place was their small cottage on Senecaville Lake where they fished and waterskied.  After Jack’s death, she remained for some years in Wadsworth with her bridge and church friends and her beloved cat, Mrs. Beasley.

Her final years were spent in Houston, Texas at St. Dominic Village to be near her three sons.  Here she could be seen playing bridge, cruising the campus with her walker, and taking care of the community cat, Miss Kitty.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be sent to the Catholic Clerical Student Fund helping seminarians which can be made online at https://donate.stripe.com/eVaaGo2PIcEhgzm7sx. Or in honor of Shirley’s Native American heritage, checks may be sent to “Have Truth Ministries”, 4219 Olive Oak Ct., Houston, TX 77059 (281-419-5421) which provides heating fuel to the Lakota-Sioux Nation.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m., with a Rosary at 9:30 a.m., on Thursday, May 2, 2024 in the Warren Chapel of St. Dominic's Village, 2401 Holcombe Blvd. in Houston, Texas.  The Rite of Committal will follow a reception after the Mass at Houston National Cemetery in Houston, Texas.

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