Shirlee Ann (Musser) Strup passed away Monday evening, March 2, 2020, in Middlefield, Ohio, at the age of 88. She was born on Nov. 28, 1931, in Bryan, Ohio, to Gordon Musser and Helen K. (Werder) Musser. Shirlee was the oldest of three children and grew up in and around Bryan, Ohio.
Shirlee was a lifelong Ohioan. She graduated from Bryan High School in 1949 and Bowling Green State University in 1953 with a degree in education and English.
She started her teaching career, teaching the fifth grade, in Bryan, Ohio. Life “took a turn” at a square dance when she met her future husband, Roger Strup. Roger and Shirlee were married at the Bryan United Methodist Church in 1954.
Shirlee and Roger soon moved to Edgerton, Ohio, where Shirlee continued her teaching career at Edgerton High School. They raised three sons and a daughter in Edgerton. They were active in the community for over 50 years before moving to the Cleveland area in 2017 to be near their daughter.
Shirlee had a lifelong passion for education. She enjoyed teaching Spanish, French and English throughout most of her 30-year career, counting all four of her children among her many students.
She organized trips to Mexico, France and Spain to expose her students to the world of language. She was a member of Kappa Delta sorority, Delta Kappa Gamma (a teaching sorority), and was active in Eastern Star.
Shirlee enjoyed travel, relishing her trips with the high school students and her family whenever the opportunity arose. In retirement, she loved winters in Florida or Arizona, reading, music, painting and watching birds.
She was active in the Edgerton United Methodist Church, Pricilla Club and her book club. Over 25 years were spent raising her four children, encouraging them to branch out, seek education, pursue their dreams and then sacrificing to make all that happen. She cherished her six grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Shirlee is survived by her husband of 65 years, Roger Strup; her sister, Alice Shaffer; brother, Gordon (Barb) Musser; her four children, David (Susan Dorfmeyer) Strup, Stephen (Sue) Strup, Lynne (Les) Shearer and Thomas (Marcia) Strup; six grandchildren, Spencer and Sydney Strup, Rick and Mitchell Shearer, Dean and Jackson Strup; and one great-grandchild, Aiden Shearer.
Visitation and a Celebration of Life will be held from 12-1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 11, at the Edgerton United Methodist Church, 307 N. Michigan Ave., Edgerton, Ohio, followed by services at 1:30 p.m. Interment will be at Maple Grove Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be made in Shirlee’s honor to the Edgerton Area Foundation and/or the Edgerton United Methodist Church.
Arrangements entrusted to the Foth-Dorfmeyer Mortuary, Toledo, Ohio. Online condolences may be left at www.fothdorfmeyer.com.
