Shirley Ann (Bonneville) Yunker
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Shirley Ann (Bonneville) Yunker, loving wife, mother and grandmother, passed away peacefully July 1, 2022 at the amazing age of 95 after sharing a laugh with her caregivers. Born July 31, 1926 in Cloquet, MN to Napolean and Laura Bonneville, Shirley might have been the shortest (5'3" in 3" heels) of her siblings, Ralph, Doris, Eileen, and Viola, but she never lacked an adventurous spirit. Amid bus tours of the East Coast and Yellowstone with her Class of 1944 Aitkin High School girlfriends, Shirley moved into an apartment in town and went to work as a teller at the First National Bank of Aitkin. She discovered a talent for numbers, mastered double entry bookkeeping and "kept the family checkbook" forever after. Shirley met Cliff Yunker, a World War II Navy vet, out dancing at the White Pine Tavern in Deerwood. They married July 24, 1950 dancing the Tennessee Waltz, and soon packed everything they owned in a car and set out for Chicago, sight unseen, to make a new life. Cliff's work in sales and sales management kept the family on the move, and Shirley made homes in Chicago, Omaha, Tampa, Atlanta, Chicago (again), and Kansas City with Cliff and their three children. The first task in each new city was to order the morning and evening newspapers, part of Cliff and Shirley's lifelong love of learning passed enthusiastically on to their children. The family settled by retuning to Aitkin where Cliff and Shirley owned the Westside Grocery for 13 years (Shirley did the books) before retiring to enjoy their grandchildren, driving trips to "just beyond the radiator cap" and other new adventures. Shirley spent her final years in a senior community in Crosby, and thank goodness her motorized scooter beeped when in reverse - she was heck on wheels! Preceded in death by husband Clifford, Shirley is survived by. children Mark (Leslie), Mary, Scott (Carol), grandchildren Katie, Anna, Drake, Matthew, and Peter, and sister Viola Erickson.
Mass of Christian Burial will be 12:00pm - Friday, July 29, 2022 at St. James Catholic Church, Aitkin. Father Mike Patullo will officiate. Visitation will be 1 hour prior to the service at the church. Burial will be in Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Minneapolis. Arrangements are with Sorensen-Root-Thompson Funeral Home & Cremation Services of Aitkin. Go to www.srtfuneral.com to leave a message of condolence.