Shirley Jean Prentice, 83, a longtime resident of Royal, passed away on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021, while in hospice care in Denver, Colo. Private family services were held in Colorado on Monday, Sept. 13, and a graveside service was held at Riverside Cemetery in Spencer on Sept. 20, with Rev. Shurmaine McAlpine officiating. Warner Funeral Home assisted with the arrangements.

Shirley was born Sept. 17, 1937, to Waldo and Amy (Torbert) Carlson. She grew up on a farm near Royal and then moved to Spencer where she attended high school. After marrying her husband, Bruce, they moved back to the same farm. These years were filled with farm work and raising a family. In her spare time Shirley enjoyed family camping and boating trips. After the kids grew up, Bruce and Shirley moved to Royal in 1979 where she was the bookkeeper for the family business, Prentice Backhoe.

As retirement near, they moved to Maywood in 1997 where she enjoyed the lakes, time with her friends, winters in Texas, playing cards and an occasional trip to the casino. After her husband passed in 2018, she moved to Colorado to live with family and enjoy her great-grandchildren.

Shirley is survived by two sons: Jerry (Tammy) Prentice, of Brainerd, Minn.; and Danny (Lea Ann) Prentice, of Denver, Colo.; one daughter, Cindy (Steve) Rondou, of Waunakee, Wis.; five grandchildren: Charles (Melissa) Prentice, Stacy (Patrick) Moya, Mathew (Julia) Prentice, Cassie Prentice and Tristan Rondou; and seven great-grandchildren.