Shirley Zwemke

Shirley Curtis Zwemke, 91, a resident of Missouri Slope Lutheran Care Center, Bismarck, ND and formerly of Devils Lake, ND, died on September 5, 2003. A memorial service will be held at 2:00 PM on Saturday, September 13, at the First United Methodist Church in Devils Lake with the Rev. Marvin Winstryg officiating. Fellowship with the family will follow the memorial service. The committal service will be held at the Devils Lake Cemetery on September 13 at 11:00 AM. Shirley Lorraine Curtis was born in Lisbon, North Dakota on August 29, 1912, the daughter of Loren Bernard and Gladys Mae McBride Curtis. She graduated from Mandan High School in 1929 and earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree with a major in Music Voice and a Public School Music Certificate from Jamestown College in 1933. Shirley and Walter Allie Zwemke of Sykeston were married on June 9, 1937 in Minot, ND. They moved to Devils Lake on New Year's Eve, 1937 and made that their home for sixty years. In 1998 they moved to Bismarck to be near family. Shirley taught in various schools in North Dakota, including the Grafton State School, Churches Ferry, Minot, Devils Lake Junior College, and Webster. She finished her career as the elementary music teacher for Devils Lake Public Schools, where she founded and directed the Songspinners, a sixty-voice fifth and sixth grade chorus. The center of Walt and Shirley's spiritual life was the First United Methodist Church. Shirley directed the Chancel Choir for 44 years. She founded and directed hand bell choirs and was active in many other areas of the church. Shirley was a long time member of the Order of Eastern Star and of The Delta Kappa Gamma Society. She was a member of the Devils Lake Music Club and directed the Music Club Chorus for over 30 years. Shirley has two daughters, Jill Strand Allen of Hamilton, NY, and Sheryl Evans Robert of Bismarck, ND. She has five grandchildren: Loren Gabrielle Strand of Indialantic, FL; Jason Nicole Strand of Robbinsville, NJ; Greer Evans Frank Christopher of Carthage, NC; Cory Evans of Washington DC; and Drew Evans, attending the University of Maryland. Shirley was predeceased by her husband of 65 years, Walt Zwemke and a sister, Eloise Sally Riebe. Memorials may be directed to the First United Methodist Church, PO Box 925, Devils Lake, North Dakota 58301; to the Zwemke-Strand Scholarship Fund, Jamestown College, 6082 College Lane, Jamestown, ND 58405; or to the Anne Carlsen Center for Children, 301 N. W. Seventh Ave., Jamestown, ND 58401.

Shirley Zwemke

August 29, 1912 - September 5, 2003