Shirley Anita Rysdam, age 87, was born on September 18, 1938, in Leon, Iowa, to Donald Dean and Gladys (Zook) Smith. She passed from this life on April 29, 2026, at her home in The Village in the Wesley Life Complex in Indianola, Iowa.
Shirley was raised on the Zook and Smith family farms in Highpoint Township of Decatur County, Iowa. She graduated from Garden Grove High School in 1956 and went on to attend business school in Omaha, Nebraska. Shirley built a lifelong career in accounting and office management.
On February 20, 1982, Shirley married Douglas Rysdam, blending their families into one. They made their home in southern Iowa.
Shirley had a deep love for music and dancing. She was a talented musician who played the piano, guitar, and saxophone. She shared her gift by playing piano for Town and Country Parish churches, Weldon area churches, and Eastern Star. She also loved animals and enjoyed riding horses in her younger years. As an avid reader, she always found joy in a good book.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Doug Rysdam, in 2023; her brothers, Gary Smith and his wife Ivanna, and Austin “Ozzie” Smith.
Shirley is survived by her children, Rhonda Acheson, Mindy Mathews, Earl and Shirley MacLeod, Terra and Steve Fulkerson, and Eric Rysdam. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Kristi and Curt Stevenson, Beth and Matt Nichols, Kari Acheson, Dustin and Lakyn Mathews, Staci and Levi Wiley, Shelby MacLeod, and Peighton and Mark Johnson, as well as four step-grandchildren, many great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren; sister-in-law, Willy Smith; and numerous other relatives and friends.
Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, May 4, 2026, at Slade-O’Donnell Funeral Home in Leon, Iowa, with burial to follow at Garden Grove Cemetery in Garden Grove, Iowa. An open visitation will be held Sunday at the Slade-O’Donnell Funeral Home from 3:00-5:00 p.m.
A memorial fund has been established by the family.