McKEVER, Shirley
August 30th, 1943 – April 13th, 2024
The family of Shirley Gertrude McKever (nėe Cole) of Utopia is heartbroken to announce her unexpected passing on Saturday, April 13 at the age of 80 years. She was adored by her five children: Jim (Patti), Glenn (Alison), Steve (Denise), Jeff (Christina), and Sherry-Lynn (Regan); and by her 13 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren. Predeceased by her loving husband of 44 years, Wayne; her sister, Ruth; her mother and father, James and Elsie.
Her welcoming smile and generosity of spirit will be dearly missed by her many extended family members, and all of her wonderful friends. Shirley lived a long and full life. She filled her world with farming, a big family, joy in the simple things, and gratitude for what she had. Fiercely independent to the end, Shirley could do anything. Over the years she pitched baseball for Grenfel, was a member of the SnowVoyagers Snowmobile Club, owned and operated a successful family business with Wayne, sang in a church choir with her mother and sister for the Utopia United Church, toured fairs and festivals as a member of the Simcoe County Cloggers, worked hard to keep her home beautifully landscaped, and could sew or mend anything anyone asked her to. Throughout her life she had the great fortune to travel much of North America with Wayne, from Mexico to Alaska and Newfoundland. In recent years she stayed closer to home and very much enjoyed dancing on Friday nights at the Barrie Legion with her partner Greg Milne. There is never enough time when you have a mother and grandmother as wonderful as Shirley McKever, but we are all so proud of the life she lived and the example she set for us.
Visitations was held from 3-5 pm and 7-9 pm on Thursday, April 18th, 2024, at Adams Funeral Home in Barrie. The Funeral Service had taken place at 1pm on Friday, April 19th, 2024, at Adams, followed by interment at the Grenfel Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, Memorial Donations may be made in Shirley’s name to the Heart and Stroke Foundation or MS Canada. Messages of condolence may be forwarded to the family through adamsfuneralhome.ca.