Shirley Rae Griffin, the daughter of Fairus Byler and Wanda Eilene (Burger) Troutman, was born September 28, 1944 in Des Moines, Iowa and died January 25, 2021 at the Taylor House in Des Moines, Iowa at the age of 76 years, 3 months, and 28 days.
Shirley was baptized and confirmed as an adult at the Exira Lutheran Church in Exira, Iowa. She attended schools in California, graduating from the Granada Hills High School with the Class of 1962 in Pasadena, California. Shirley was employed as a bookkeeper at Bob Brown Chevrolet in Des Moines for a short time then worked as a maid in the hotel in Des Moines.
On June 7, 1968, she was united in marriage to Richard Griffin at the Lutheran Church in Omaha, Nebraska. They are parents of two children: Laurie and Troy. They made their home in Exira, Iowa, and Shirley was employed at several local businesses. She then assembled vacuum cleaners in Atlantic, Iowa for a short period, worked at the Exira Care Center, and drove a bus for the Exira Community Schools. Later, she drove a bus for the Western Iowa Transit System for more than 20 years and retired in 2006. During retirement, Shirley and Rich enjoyed traveling around the United States. Shirley was the navigator and the trip planner. They especially enjoyed visiting Colorado.
Shirley was a member of the Exira Lutheran Church. She also was a member of the Exodus Chapter #313 Order of the Eastern Star.
Preceding her in death was her grandson, Ryan Stroeher; her parents; her brothers, Larry Troutman, Marvin Troutman, and Eldon Troutman; her mother-in-law and father-in-law, Leland and Francis Griffin; and her sister-in-law, JoAnn and husband Harold Albertsen.
Survivors include her husband, Rich Griffin of Exira, Iowa; her children: Laurie and husband Kurt Stroeher of Bellevue, Nebraska, and Troy Griffin of Des Moines, Iowa; her grandchildren: Zach and wife Ashley Stroeher of Houston, Texas, and Ashley and husband Scott Bougger of Omaha, Nebraska; her great-granddaughter, Adelyn Bougger of Omaha; her brother, Paul Troutman of Des Moines, Iowa; her sister, Beverly Betts of Marshalltown, Iowa; her sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, Linda Troutman of Ankeny, Iowa, and Leon and wife Susan Griffin of Ames, Iowa; as well as nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.
A funeral will be held on Monday, February 2, 2021 at the Kessler Funeral Home in Exira, Iowa with Pastor Steven Frock officiating. The family will greet friends beginning at 1:00P.M. until the time of the service. Interment will take place at the Exira Cemetery in Exira. There will be open viewing Sunday, January 31, 2021 from 9:00 A.M. until 7:00 P.M. at the Kessler Funeral Home in Exira, Iowa. The family will not be present for the viewing. The casket bearers will be Kurt Stroeher, Zach Stroeher, Bruce Johnson, LaVerne “Bub” Deist, Gale Van Aernam, and Eugene Alt.
Shirley’s funeral service will be livestreamed on KESSLER FUNERAL HOMES INC. Facebook page.
1. You will need a Facebook account to view the service, and make sure you are logged into Facebook.
2. To get to our Facebook page, return to our website at www.kesslerfuneralhome.com, scroll to the bottom of any page and click the circle “f” button, which will take you directly to our business Facebook page.
3. We begin the live feed of the service 2-3 minutes prior to the start of the service, so anytime before that, you will NOT see the video. If you refresh your Facebook browser at the time of the service, the video will appear right at the top of the page for you.
4. If you experience difficulties viewing the broadcast at the time of the service, please understand we must conduct the service and are not available to assist with troubleshooting. But the recording will remain on our Facebook page for additional viewing opportunities, and you can call us at the funeral home and we would be happy to help you locate the video after the service has ended.
