Shirley Roby

After a brief and unexpected illness, Shirley Roby, 83, died peacefully on February 28, 2019 surrounded by her family. Shirley was born in Richland Center to Edward Jansen and Carmen Arlene Minett and raised on the family farm outside Ithaca. She attended Ithaca High School, travelled Richland and surrounding counties as an accordion player in a dancehall band and soon moved to Madison. There she met Harlow (Pete) Roby. They married in 1958 and together raised 5 children.

Shirley loved her family and cherished her friends. Her life focused on others. She supported all of the activities in which her five children participated while growing up on Madison's west side, from baseball, swimming, softball and basketball to scouts and school advisory committees. When her children began having children, she told them she would spoil the grandchildren with presence, not presents. Present and kind she was. Her grandchildren could always find her on the sidelines, in the stands and in the audience at their sporting and theater events. She continued her long friendships up until her death. When her health failed, among the tasks was calling friends to cancel lunch appointments and to let her bridge club know she wouldn't be able to play that week.

In addition to raising five children, Shirley had a long career as a tax preparer, account specialist with the State of Wisconsin, and probate and trust paralegal with a Madison law firm. She continued to work as a tax preparer long after she retired from her state and paralegal work. She had planned to continue with tax preparation this year.

Serving others was important to Shirley, as was her Catholic faith. She regularly attended Mass and volunteered at Queen of Peace. She also volunteered in the Madison public schools and at St. Mary's Hospital.

Shirley is survived by her husband of 60 years, Harlow (Pete) Roby, her five children, David (Karen) Roby, Janice (Scott) Peters, Barbara James, Linda (Don) Meier, and Susan (Dan) Schlichting; ten grandchildren, Nicholas and Elizabeth Roby, Emily (fiancée Bryant Hagen) and Matthew Peters, Kendra James, Erik and Ruth Meier, Declan, Conor and Bridget Schlichting, great-granddaughter Aubreigh Peters, and her brother, Robert (Bernie) Jansen. She was preceded in death by her parents, Edward and Arlene Jansen, and her brothers, Richard and James Jansen.

The family extends a special thank you to the wonderful caregivers at the Agrace inpatient facility.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. at OUR LADY QUEEN OF PEACE CATHOLIC CHURCH, 401 S. Owen Dr., Madison, on Thursday, March 7, 2019, with Msgr. Jim Uppena presiding. Burial will follow at Resurrection Cemetery. A visitation will be held Wednesday, March 6, 2019 at CRESS FUNERAL HOME, 3610 Speedway Rd., Madison from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. and also on Thursday at church from 10 a.m. until the time of Mass.

Cress Funeral & Cremation Service
3610 Speedway Road Madison
(608) 238-3434