Obituary
This is the official obituary that I wrote for the newspaper, which has to be taken up to Danville tomorrow. If I have time and energy, I may write something longer and more personal later.
Shirley Rochat Barrette (January 18, 1944-December 26, 2021) passed away at 77, peacefully with family. She was born in Tennessee, later living in Mattoon and Charleston, Illinois. She lived in Alvin and died in Danville.
Shirley earned Bachelor of Science (1966) and Master of Science (1970) degrees, both in Education from Eastern Illinois University. Lifelong teacher of math and computers, she concluded her career with 20+ years at Bismarck-Henning Junior High and High School. She served in Illinois Education Association / National Education Association unions. Hobbies included gardening, hiking, cooking, crochet, computers, travel, reading.
Happily married over 50 years, she is survived by husband Anthony Barrette; daughter Elizabeth (Doug Edwards) Barrette; brother Ross Dean (Martha) Rochat; nephews Ross Edwin (Jessica) Rochat and Ryan Henry (Jaime) Rochat; niece Andrea (Riley Sheehan) Rochat; grand-niece Raven; grand-nephews Remy, Harrison, and Arden; and countless friends and associates.
Memorial service at Sunset Funeral Home to be announced. In lieu of flowers: donations to National Wildlife Federation or Southern Poverty Law Center; scholarship planned for Bismarck-Henning High School.
EDIT 12/27/21 -- the obituary is now up on the funeral home website. It will be going into the Danville area newspaper too, turns out that was prepaid as part of the package.
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Before writing this, I did some research on obituary writing. The first article I hit had a very useful list of things to include, so read that if you need guidelines.
Shirley Rochat Barrette (January 18, 1944-December 26, 2021) passed away at 77, peacefully with family. She was born in Tennessee, later living in Mattoon and Charleston, Illinois. She lived in Alvin and died in Danville.
Shirley earned Bachelor of Science (1966) and Master of Science (1970) degrees, both in Education from Eastern Illinois University. Lifelong teacher of math and computers, she concluded her career with 20+ years at Bismarck-Henning Junior High and High School. She served in Illinois Education Association / National Education Association unions. Hobbies included gardening, hiking, cooking, crochet, computers, travel, reading.
Happily married over 50 years, she is survived by husband Anthony Barrette; daughter Elizabeth (Doug Edwards) Barrette; brother Ross Dean (Martha) Rochat; nephews Ross Edwin (Jessica) Rochat and Ryan Henry (Jaime) Rochat; niece Andrea (Riley Sheehan) Rochat; grand-niece Raven; grand-nephews Remy, Harrison, and Arden; and countless friends and associates.
Memorial service at Sunset Funeral Home to be announced. In lieu of flowers: donations to National Wildlife Federation or Southern Poverty Law Center; scholarship planned for Bismarck-Henning High School.
EDIT 12/27/21 -- the obituary is now up on the funeral home website. It will be going into the Danville area newspaper too, turns out that was prepaid as part of the package.
* * *
Before writing this, I did some research on obituary writing. The first article I hit had a very useful list of things to include, so read that if you need guidelines.