Shirley Anne (Tollenaar) Briggs of Excelsior Springs, MO, passed away peacefully on October 14, 2024. Shirley was born on November 4, 1935, in Kirksville, MO, to Alma and John Depending Tollenaar II. She was 88 years young.
Shirley graduated from Kirksville High School in 1953 and married her sweetheart, LeRoy Briggs the same month. Shirley and LeRoy had two girls, Karen and Suzie, and moved to Excelsior Springs when the girls were in grade school. Shirley held many jobs in her younger years, but eventually decided factory work was for her because as she said, if a machine was giving you trouble, you could cuss at them. After the girls graduated and left home, Shirley and LeRoy hit the road, often on their motorcycle. They visited all 48 states in the continental U.S. on a motorcycle, cruised to Hawaii and
Alaska, and took a group bus trip to visit numerous countries in Europe. When she wasn’t traveling, Shirley bowled, played games, went out with friends, and delighted in her family. Shirley often talked about how much she had done and seen in her life. She also talked about all the inventions and changes in American life she had experienced. She often said how lucky she was to have lived the life she lived, and how everyone should be so lucky.
Shirley is preceded in death by her spouse, LeRoy; daughter, Karen; brother, Richard; along with her parents, John and Alma.
She will be sadly missed by the surviving members of her family daughter, Suzie (Ray) Castor; son-in-law, LaVerne Seifert; grandchildren, Melissa (Nicolas) Linard and Shawn (Sallie West) Seifert; great-grandchild, Sylvia Linard; and brother, John (Debbie) Tollenaar III.
The visitation and funeral will be held at 10 a.m. on October 18, 2024 at Bross and Spidle in Excelsior Springs, MO. Visitation will be from 10 to 11 a.m. with service at 11 a.m. A graveside service will follow at Hillcrest Cemetary, in which everyone is welcome to join.
