Shirley Jo (Roads) Emde

October 8, 1934 – November 20, 2012

Shirley Jo Emde, 78, died on Tuesday, November 20, 2012 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Her funeral service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, November 26, 2012 at Zion Lutheran Church in Stillwater. The family will be available at the Funeral Home from 6:00 to 8:00 pm on Sunday. Strode Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Shirley was born on October 8, 1934 in Perry, Oklahoma to Harold Douglas and Stella Mae (Anglemyer) Roads. She graduated from Perry High School in 1952. Shirley married Raymond A. Emde in Perry on November 1, 1953. They lovingly raised five children and enjoyed over 35 years of marriage before Ray’s death in 1990.

Shirley was very involved in running the family restaurants, The Dairy Kitchen and Emdes’ Downtown Restaurant, from 1962 through 1980. She also spent many years as the bookkeeper for Colonial Florist in Stillwater. Shirley was a long time member of the Zion Lutheran Church and was active in the Altar Guild where she used her talents to sew banners and church paraments. She was also a member of the Pine Vale Extension Homemakers Club for many years and was very active at the Payne County Fair. Shirley won many awards for her cooking, baking and flowers, but was best known for her seamstress skills and the many ribbons she won on her quilting. She also volunteered for the Stillwater Medical Center Auxiliary and was active with the Perry Alumni Association holding various leadership positions. Shirley also had a great love for reading books and novels.

Shirley is preceded in death by her parents, husband and sister, Vera Kukuk.

She is survived by her son, Gilbert Emde, wife, Mary, of Stillwater, and their children, Rachael, Mark and Kevin; son, Steven Emde and Kay Emde of Edmond, and their children Caroline and Greg; son, Douglas Emde, wife, Peggy, of Stillwater, and their children Caleb and Whitney; son, Matthew Emde, wife, Brenda, of Edmond, and their children, Laura and Keith Griesel and Patrick; and daughter, Sharon Peters, husband, Anthony, and their children, Karley and Austin, of Bartlesville; and one brother, Jack Roads, and wife, Darlene, of Perry.
Pallbearers will include her grandsons, Austin Peters, and Mark, Kevin, Greg, Caleb and Patrick Emde.

Memorials may be made in her name to the Stillwater Medical Center Auxiliary Foundation at P.O. Box 2408, Stillwater, OK 74076, or the American Cancer Society at P.O. Box 22718, Oklahoma City, OK 73123.