Shirley Vodicka (Bolivar)'s Obituary
Mrs. Shirley Ann Vodicka, age 79 of Bolivar, passed away Friday afternoon, September 19, 2014 at the Citizen's Memorial Healthcare Facility in Bolivar after a lingering illness.
She was born in Enid, Oklahoma on November 19, 1934, to Albert Elvin Griffith and Mary Floy (Martin). She was raised in Lahoma, Oklahoma.
Leaving behind very dear friends and a leading position on her high school basketball team, her family moved to Bolivar, Missouri, in her senior year.
Remaining close to friends back in Oklahoma, she was preparing to return when she met Edward Anthony Vodicka; she stayed, they married and started their family…moving into the Vodicka homestead in Karlin, Missouri. In 1961, with 4 children in tow, Ed and Shirley moved to Springfield, Missouri, where their fifth child was born a year later.
Shirley completed her schooling as a Licensed Practice Nurse, working various positions in the Springfield area. Through the years she has remained close to her nursing friends, as well as those in Oklahoma.
She joined Ed in retirement and they moved to Louisburg in 1984. Always enjoying her favorite pastime, knitting and crocheting…many friends and family have received an afghan or two as a wedding or Christmas gift. As she settled into retirement she began crafting doll dresses and clothed man dolls for Share Your Christmas. As they settled into Louisburg, they had even more time to enjoy square dancing, a favorite activity they enjoyed with family and friends.
Interests expanded to include the genealogy of both family names. In their travels, they visited many family homesteads to learn of both family trees. So interested in sharing her knowledge, she compelled family members from near and far to join in extended family reunions, inviting generations from across the United States to gather.
Shriley is survived by her husband Edward A. (Ed) Vodicka, Sr., of the couple’s home in Bolivar; one daughter, Pam Vodicka, and husband David Harter, of Columbia, MD; three sons, Ed Vodicka, and wife Christa, of Nixa, MO; Greg Vodicka, and wife Teri, of Bolivar, MO; Martin Vodicka, of Bolivar, MO; one sister, Alberta Faust, and husband Edwin, of Raytown, MO; three grandchildren; and one great granddaughter.
She is preceded in death by one son, Kerry Joseph Vodicka.
The Family request that in lieu of flowers donations be made to the American Foundation Suicide Prevention Association, or the National Ataxia Foundation.
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