Shirley June Dries

DRIES, Shirley J. age 95, passed away peacefully on Wednesday October 19, 2022 at The Laurels of Kettering surrounded by her family.

She is survived by her sons, Bob (Jeanne) and Tom (Mary); daughters, Mary Sucher and Ruth Lieber; her sisters Ruth, Marilyn, Charmaine (Robert) and Carol (Lee), sister-in-law Rosemary Dries as well as twelve grandchildren and twelve great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her loving husband of 73 years Bob, her son Bill, her sister Eileen and her sons-in-law Tom Sucher and Joe Lieber.

Shirley was born in Milwaukee, WI to William A. and Hazel E. Neitzel and grew up in the greater Milwaukee area. After graduating from high school, she worked at Schuster’s Department store in the floral shop. As she was one of the few women at the time with a driver’s license, she often made deliveries or picked up flowers from the wholesalers. She married the love of her life, Bob, in 1948 and they lived in Milwaukee before moving to Dayton OH in 1953. In addition to raising her own family, she was an active member of the Dayton Utopians Women’s group that worked with children and young adults with special needs. She enjoyed gardening and the yard of their home was alive with colorful flowers and shrubs from the bright yellow forsythia in the early spring through the red geraniums in the late fall. Shirley enjoyed traveling throughout the United States and especially enjoyed visiting the Amana Colonies in Iowa, the Gatlinburg TN area and Branson MO where she and Bob were frequent visitors to the Welk Theater.

A private family graveside service will be held at Gate of Heaven Cemetery. In lieu of flowers please consider making a contribution to UNICEF, your local food pantry or to a charity of your choice.