Evelyn “Louise” Shimkus custom obituary
After nearly a full century of brightening the lives of everyone around her, Evelyn “Louise” Shimkus left this world peacefully in Venice, Fla., on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2012, to reunite with a lifetime of friends and family in heaven.
Born May 25, 1913, to Carl and Margaret Nelson, Louise grew up in the small farming town of Batavia, Iowa, where her father ran the general store. It was during her formative years in the Midwest that Louise learned the values she would carry through the rest of her life: honesty, caring, determination, hard work and integrity.
Shortly after high school, Louise’s father approached her with an opportunity to work as a nanny for a doctor’s family in the Boston suburb of Newton, Mass. Little did she know how that adventure would determine the course of her life.
During the four-year period Louise worked as a nanny, she met a handsome young man named Theodore (Ted) Shimkus. He was smitten with her bright smile and sparkling blue eyes, and the two soon began keeping company. The couple stayed in contact when Louise returned home briefly to Iowa, and their long-distance relationship continued when her father offered Louise another care opportunity that would take her to Florida during the winters.
Louise drove her new client, a woman who worked as a poet and writer, all the way to Miami – a tremendously long journey in the mid-1930s. Louise and her employer wintered in the Tampa area for another few years before Ted hatched a plan that would reunite him and Louise forever.
Ted mailed an engagement ring along with a letter, asking Louise’s employer if she would present the ring and ask for his love’s hand in marriage on his behalf. There was no question. The woman arranged a tea party and wrote a poem for the occasion, and of course Louise said ‘yes.’
Louise and Ted lived most of their married life in Southborough, Mass., where they raised three sons, Michael, Peter (Karen) and Raymond (Ivone), and a daughter, Margaret (Stephen) White. Ted passed away in 1999.
Family and friends were the beneficiaries of Louise’s consistently positive attitude. She was the caring spirit that held the family together, allowing everyone to experience the amazing love and strength of a tight-knit family and close friends.
Louise was steadfast in her support and friendship through good times and bad, maintaining relationships until the very end through cards and letters. In fact, some of her friends were probably growing impatient waiting for her to join them in heaven.
In addition to her husband, Louise was preceded by her brothers, Eugene, Oboe and Raymond, and her sister, Wanda.
The family would like to thank Louise’s dear friend, Dodie Perkins, and health care advocate, Carolyn Long, for their love and assistance, along with the private duty care nurses and staff of Tidewell Hospice for their wonderful care.
Our mother knew the body is just the vessel that carries us through this lifetime. When the body moves on, precious thoughts remain of the person. We know that Louise will remain a part of each of us through her unending love and kindness.
© 2013 Copyright Mike Dauplaise
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