Shirley Rose Weisenfeld

1930 - 2025

Shirley Rose Weisenfeld

August 4, 1930 - August 24, 2025

Tumwater, Washington - Shirley Rose (Peterson) Weisenfeld, 95, passed peacefully into the arms of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on August 24, 2025, after a life marked by unwavering faith, boundless love, and extraordinary devotion to her family and community.

Born August 4, 1930, in Tacoma, Washington, Shirley was the youngest of two children to a dentist father and nurse mother. Her parents had been flappers in the roaring twenties before finding their faith through the ministry of pastor Roy Brumbaugh at the Bible Presbyterian Church of Tacoma. This spiritual foundation became the bedrock of Shirley's own deep and abiding faith.

After attending Stadium High School in Tacoma, where she formed lifelong friendships, Shirley's life took a beautiful turn one Sunday when her mother, Rose Elizabeth, invited a handsome serviceman from Fort Lewis to church and dinner. That serviceman was Jack Weisenfeld, serving near the end of the Korean Conflict. What began as Christian hospitality blossomed into love that would span nearly five decades.

When Rose Elizabeth became terminally ill with cancer, Shirley cared for her until her death, then traveled to Wisconsin to discern Jack's feelings toward her. They married in 1955 and settled in Seattle, where Jack pursued his degree in Political Science at the University of Washington while Shirley created their home.

In 1959, their first son Paul was born with trisomy 21 (Down syndrome), and Shirley devoted herself to his care for his entire 49 years of life. Her compassionate heart shone as she incorporated Paul into the Sunday school classes she taught, and later reached out to minister to other neurodiverse children and families. In 1962, their second son Mark was born.

Their life together included four cross-country moves as Jack pursued theological education and ministry. Through every transition-from Seattle to Pennsylvania for Jack's seminary education, back to Kent, Washington, where son John was born in 1968, then to Collingswood, New Jersey, where Jack served as Secretary of Home Missions and daughter Elizabeth Rose (E.R.) was born in 1971, and finally to Olympia, Washington, in 1980-Shirley adapted with characteristic grace while maintaining her own interests and community connections.

Shirley was shaped by her experience as a child of the Great Depression and exercised frugality her whole life. She clipped coupons and stretched every dollar while feeding any and all comers with delicious meals. Her garden was her sanctuary, where she spent countless hours cultivating both flowers and vegetables. She loved sushi and crab, enjoyed experimenting with cooking diverse foods, and had adventurous palates that she shared with her family.

When denominational conflicts affected Jack's ministry, Shirley stood by him with grace while maintaining her own strong convictions about church community decisions. Her knowledge and study informed her determined attitudes, reflecting the depth of engagement she brought to matters of faith and community life.

Shirley built lasting friendships through hosting Sunday lunches at their home for many years, welcoming newcomers into her community. She taught Japanese exchange students how to make scones, learned Korean to better connect with Korean teens when they served English-speaking spouses at a local Korean church, and led Bible studies at Paul's nursing home. She listened to cassette tapes of Jack's sermons after he died, finding comfort in his voice and teachings.

Though she worried her children would move away, she never discouraged them from pursuing adventures and opportunities beyond home. She supported their independence while maintaining close family bonds.

In 1994, when Jack suffered a stroke, Shirley, then 64, became primary caregiver to both her husband and adult son Paul. She tended Jack for nine years until his passing in 2003, and continued to visit Paul daily at his care facility until his own death in 2008.

After living independently in the family home until 2021, Shirley lived with her son Mark and daughter-in-law Judie before a stroke necessitated her move to an adult family home in her beloved Olympia. She faced her declining health with the same quiet strength that had carried her through nine decades of life's joys and sorrows.

Shirley is survived by her children Mark, John, and Liz, her lifelong friend from Stadium High School, and the countless lives she touched through her teaching, caregiving, hospitality, and quiet witness to faith lived in action.

"Her children arise and call her blessed." - Proverbs 31:28

Memorial Service is planned for October 11th, 2025 at 11:00am at Grace Community Covenant Church, 5501 Wiggins Road SE, Olympia, 98501.