(1929-2022)

Fifteen children in all – ten girls and five boys – were born into the marriage of Edward and Hilda (Wellnitz) Thielk, beginning with Elizabeth in 1922 all the way to John, twenty-five years later in 1947. Of them, Shirley was the sixth, born on July 16, 1929.

The Thielks lived in Detroit, where Edward worked at Fisher Body, which was later part of General Motors. Over time, he rose through the ranks to become superintendent for material control. Hilda worked as a bookkeeper for a small company before marrying Edward in 1921.

In a 1985 class assignment at Siena Heights College (University) as Sister Shirley was working on her master’s in counseling, she wrote about her parents:

It seems to me that both my parents were extremely effective in modeling for us, their children, the values they believed in. They did not say to us one thing, and then live another. For one thing, it was very apparent to me as a child that my parents loved each other.

… Dad was also very affectionate, not just to Mother, but to all his children also, kissing and hugging all who were present at his departure from or his arrival home.

Read more about Sister Shirley (PDF)

Memorial gifts may be made to Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, Michigan, 49221. 
 

 

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