Shirley M. Wallace

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Mrs. Shirley Marie (Eggerding) Wallace of Grand Rapids, Michigan, age 88, went to be with her Lord on June 7, 2024. Shirley was a professional and voluntary servant of God who shared her faith and musical talents for more than 45 years as an elementary school teacher and principal. She was called to serve at Concordia Lutheran School in Toledo, Ohio; Redeemer Lutheran School in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio; Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church in Dayton, Ohio, and St. John Lutheran School in Taylor, Michigan. Shirley earned a Bachelor of Science from Concordia Teachers College, River Forest, Illinois, in 1957 and a Master of Arts from Eastern Michigan University in 1979. During her freshman year in college, she forged a 70-year friendship with seven college roommates. Shirley is survived by her loving children Jana Wallace, Deborah (Tom) Keesecker, and David (Carolyn) Wallace; grandchildren Emily and Andrew Wallace; brother E. Louis (Marilyn) Eggerding; brother-in-law Pastor Larry Brelje, as well as cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends. Shirley was preceded in death by her husband Daniel J. Wallace, parents Edwin and Leona (Hitzemann) Eggerding, and sister Karen (Eggerding) Brelje. The family is grateful to The Cortland Riverside Gardens staff in Grand Rapids where Shirley spent her final years. Funeral service will be at 11:00 a.m. on June 17, 2024 at St. James Lutheran Church, 2040 Oakwood Avenue, N.E., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49505. Visitation with the family will be at the church one hour prior to the service. Shirley will be laid to rest less than a mile from the Eggerding family’s ancestral homestead and near her ancestors in the Trinity Lutheran Church Cemetery near Red Bud, Illinois on June 21, 2024. Memorial contributions to St. James Lutheran Church, Grand Rapids, Emmanuel Hospice of Grand Rapids, or your own spiritual home.