Shirley Evelyn Gorrell, 85, left us on Monday, June 1, 2026, surrounded by her family at her home near Burlington, Iowa.
Shirley was born on June 7, 1940, in a small farmhouse outside of Webster, Illinois. She was the daughter of Cecil and Margie Klossing Shipman. Shirley was raised in a big, loving family with four brothers and two sisters. She married Paul Gorrell of Burlington, Iowa, at a church in Webster, Illinois, on July 19, 1959.
Shirley was a 1958 graduate of LaHarpe High School. Shirley attended beauty school and then worked as a cosmetologist for a short time before beginning her family, at which point she became a full-time mom and homemaker to her five children. Together Paul and Shirley built their home, where she lived the rest of her life. Shirley was a member of SE Iowa Antique Gas Engine Club, Blackhawk Auto Restorers, Antique Studebaker Club and Crosley Automobile Club.
Family was everything to Shirley and she was the heart of the home. She enjoyed cooking meals for everyone and if you happened to stop by the house, you ate! Shirley loved her flowers and her garden and spent countless hours canning, freezing, and preserving the fruits and vegetables of her labor. There was nothing else that brought her more joy than to be with her family, especially all her grandchildren. She never turned down a chance to babysit, attend a ball game, recital, competition or program. Shirley was quick to smile, laugh, or offer a hug. She thoroughly enjoyed daily walks, listening to country music, and helping others.
Together, Shirley and Paul loved to travel with their five children across the country attending car shows and picking up collectible cars and parts, while site seeing along the way. As a family, the seven of them visited 48 states and Canada. Shirley loved every moment of their travels, especially to the shows where she built lifelong friendships, who later became like family.
She is survived by her husband of 66 years, Paul; five children: David (Laura) Gorrell, Becky (Bryan) Nelson, Sherry (Michael) May, Bruce (Sherri) Gorrell all of Burlington, and Duane (Phyllis) Gorrell of Danville; ten grandchildren; twenty-one great grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren; siblings: Cecil (Iola) Shipman of Carthage, Illinois, and Carolyn Read of Olive Branch, Mississippi and sister in-law Janet Shipman of Blandinsville, Illinois. Also surviving are several nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents Cecil and Margie; siblings and their spouses: Mildred (Marion) Lewis, Clifford (Jeanne) Shipman, Carl Shipman, Henry (Sonja) Shipman and brother in-law Vernon Read.
The funeral service for Shirley will be held at 12:00 p.m. Monday, June 8, 2026, at Lunning Chapel with Danny Shipman, nephew, officiating. A two-hour visitation will be held prior to the service from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Monday, June 8, 2026, at Lunning Chapel where the family will meet with friends. Burial will be held in Aspen Grove Cemetery.
Memorials have been established in her memory for Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center Home Health and Hospice and the American Alzheimer’s Association.