Shirley Cozette Ehman

Shirley passed from this worldly life to life eternal on January 24, 2022. Shirley was born in Rosebush, Michigan on Halloween in 1929 to Reverend Alfred Clare Motyer of Bermuda and Edna Jefferson Motyer of Exploits, New Foundland, Canada. After the untimely death of her father when she was a toddler, her mother, sister Gwendolyn “Gwen” and brother Derwin “Der” moved to Bermuda to be with family. After a year and a half, they moved back to the United States eventually settling in Howard City. Shirley graduated high school in 1947. She started at Bronson Methodist Hospital School of Nursing at 17 years old as a student nurse and graduated Cum Laude in 1950. She worked at Bronson Methodist Hospital upon graduation. With dreams of traveling the world as nurses, she and five friends headed to Havana, Cuba for a 4-week work stint and returned to Traverse City for jobs at the local hospital. Hardly back on U.S. soil, she met and fell in love with Douglas Ehman of Beulah, Michigan whom she married February 2, 1952. Job opportunities eventually took them to the St. Joseph-Benton Harbor area and they made Stevensville their permanent home. They had five children along the way: Douglas II, Thais, Claudia, Erin and Todd. They were long-time members of the Stevensville United Methodist Church and were very involved in the church and especially loved anything involving youth. After retirement, they were blessed to be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor and took many wonderful trips together. England, Italy, Ireland, Israel and a riverboat trip on the Delta Queen to New Orleans were just a few of their destinations. They spent the winters in Lake Worth, Florida near their daughter Erin and loved the escape from the winter cold. At a family celebration for her 80th birthday Shirley said, “What a great 80 years it’s been. I loved nursing. I loved raising a family. And I loved your dad. You know what Ben Franklin said, ‘The greatest society in the world is the society of family!’ I believe that. And remember to teach it to your children and your grandchildren. It takes work.” And as hard as it was at times, she made it look easy because family always came first. She was a wonderful memory-maker for her children and grandchildren. Shirley had a love for nature, history and antiques, gardening, basket-making, tin-smithing, weaving, needlepointing, knitting and baking. She was preceded in death by her husband, Doug; daughter, Thais (Ehman) VanGinhoven; sister, Gwendolyn; and brother, Der. Surviving are Douglas (Laura) Ehman, II, Claudia (Paul) Shibelski, Erin (Bo) Allen, Todd (Karen) Ehman; ten grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren.

A celebration of life will be held at Stevensville United Methodist Church on Saturday, February 26 at 10 AM with burial following at Hickory Bluff Cemetery, Stevensville. In lieu of flowers, Shirley would be pleased if a donation was made to The Smile Train (smiletrain.org), Sarett Nature Center (sarett.org) or Fernwood Botanical Gardens (fernwoodbotanical.org). Those wishing to leave an online condolence may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com.


Join the Celebration of Life Service via Zoom with link below
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82996046252?pwd=QlA4RkFINWVGdFEyQjVOZm5yTWdsQT09

Meeting ID: 829 9604 6252
Passcode: 395420