Messinger Fountain Hills Mortuary
Shirley Jean (DeForth) Lucchesi, a resident at the Cactus Villa Adult Care Home in Scottsdale, Arizona, passed away peacefully at the age of 86, on Wednesday, April 22, 2020. A celebration of her life will be held at a later time.
Shirley Lucchesi was born October 29, 1933, in Glendive, Montana, to Gertrude (Daniels) and Chester DeForth and in 1941, 8 years later, her beloved brother Peter was born. Shirley ("Sis") adored having a little brother, and they remained close throughout her life.
Shirley was a very curious, bright child who loved music, playing several instruments including the oboe. She also fell in love with tennis at an early age, competing at both the high school and college level successfully.
Shirley came from a long line of women educators and her passion for knowledge and education started at a very young age. She obtained her undergraduate degree in journalism and later her Masters Degree in History and Political science from the University of Montana, Missoula. She left Montana in 1958 to pursue a fellowship in history at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. While working on her PhD, she met an engineering student from Chicago, named Lou Lucchesi. They were married two years later on June 19, 1961.
Shirley taught in the Illinois school system for 22 years, first at Morton High School, teaching journalism and history and running the school newspaper. Later she taught as a substitute teacher and then as a high school history teacher at Glenbard West in Glen Ellyn. She was very well liked and respected by both her students and the staff wherever she taught. Shirley also served on the church council as part of the small church community she cherished at the Living Christ Lutheran Church in Hanover Park, IL
Shirley and Lou had two daughters and a son. Their first daughter, Diane, was born in 1963 with cerebral palsey and passed away at the age of three. Shirley was always a very involved mother and grandmother, who supported the many differenct activities both her son and daughter and later their 5 combined children loved from fishing to music to tennis to horses.
Over the years and especially after the kids married and left home, Shirley and Lou cherished their time together and shared many hobbies including golf, cross country skiing, tennis, attending Illini sporting events, travel, and spending the winters at their second home in The Villages in Florida.
Shirley will be lovingly remember by her husband of nearly 59 years, Lou, of Scottsdale, AZ; son David (Roxanne) of Brookings, SD; daughter Linda (Tim) of Scottsdale; brother Peter (Carol) of Stanardsville, VA; grandchildren Lydia, Emma, Luke, Ryan and Nathan, and neice, Leigh (Van Whitehead) DeForth of Columbia, SC. She was preceeded in death by her parents, Chester and Gertrude, and daughter, Diane.
Condolences go to Messingermortuary.com
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The Villages Daily Sun - Memoriams
http://www.thevillagesdailysun.com
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