A Little Yellow Bird: Memories of Marie Shurmantine

Marie Frances (Schultz) Shurmantine passed away on Sunday August 24, 2014. She died quietly, surrounded by her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Marie was 94. A child of immigrant parents, Marie lived a dramatic and eventful life; she survived the Great Depression, a childhood spent in orphanages, the Ruskin tornado, the death of her beloved husband Don, the deaths of two dearly-loved sons (Kent and Drew), cancer, and the death of her grandson Geoffrey. Through all this turmoil she never lost her faith in God or her fundamentally positive outlook on life; she never ceased caring for others or thinking incessantly of the needs of others. Widowed with four children, she nevertheless confronted life with optimism and hope, and provided her family with all they needed to be secure, happy, and successful. She remained strong, smart, opinionated, and independent to the end.