Sonja Kay Shipman, 80, of Dallas City, Ill., died at 1:40 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025, at the Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center in West Burlington.
Sonja was born on Oct. 31, 1944, at home in Pontoosuc, Ill., to parents Floyd “Tuffy” and Elizabeth Nichols Maynard. She grew up in Pontoosuc and graduated from Dallas City High School. On Nov. 18, 1962, she married Henry G. Shipman in Pontoosuc. He preceded her in death on July 11, 2022.
Sonja had been employed by the Burlington Basket Company, and she retired from the Sheaffer Pen Company after more than twenty-five years of service. An active member of Grace Bible Church in Dallas City, Ill., she routinely helped with Vacation Bible School and church and community dinners. She also volunteered with the Dallas City Food Pantry and assisted with the Boy and Girl Scouts during her children’s youth.
Sonja started her days with a cup of coffee and reading devotionals. She loved hosting and cooking for her family and friends, and she also loved cheating them at Fast Track and card games. She enjoyed going for car and boat rides and camping. In previous years, Sonja loved shifting trot lines with her dad, Tuffy, and her sons, and enjoyed decorating wedding and birthday cakes. Most of all, she loved spending time with her large family.
Survivors include one daughter: Rhonda (Tony) Francis of Clarksville, Mo.; one daughter-in-law: Mary Shipman of Basco, Ill.; nine grandchildren: Jeremy, Jennifer, Josh, Ethan, Colten, Amanda, Steven, Lexis, and Arianna; a host of loving great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren; and one brother: Tom Maynard of Pontoosuc.
Besides her husband, she was preceded in death by two sons: Rodney and Steve Shipman; two brothers: Butch Maynard and one in infancy; four sisters: Dorothy Gilpin, Daisy Bundy, Marrietta Hnat, and Peggy Rockhold.
Sonja’s funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, at the Banks and Beals Funeral Home in Dallas City, Ill., with Rev. Larry Menschel officiating. Burial will follow at the Webster Cemetery in Webster, Illinois.
The family will receive friends from 9 to 11 a.m. on Saturday at Banks and Beals, prior to the service.
A memorial fund has been established for Grace Bible Church.
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