Shirley Pertile

Shirley LaVerne Pertile was born April 28, 1941 at her Grandma Coey’s home in Pine Lake, Wisconsin, and was the daughter of Fred and Ila Dietel [Coey].  She passed away peacefully, at the age of 79, with her three daughters by her side on Friday, June 19, 2020 at Good Samaritan Hospital in Merrill, Wisconsin.

Shirley lived her entire life in Hurley, Wisconsin and Ironwood, Michigan where she was united in marriage to Raymond Bruno Pertile on February 7, 1959 at St. Ambrose’s Parish [currently Our Lady of Peace].

They raised three daughters Theresa [Charles Sr.] Torosian of Racine, WI, Tammy [Steve] Albert of Merrill, WI and Tracy [Robert] Beth of Sturtevant, WI.  She had five grandchildren [Stefanie, Raymond, CJ, Zach and Sebastian] and nine great-grandchildren [Carter, Reese, Cooper, Parker, Jordan, Ashton, Everlee, Tanner and Emmersyn] all of which were truly one of her greatest accomplishments.

Although all her daughters moved from the area shortly after graduating from high school, they remained close to their parents and made trips frequently to the area to visit them, along with many family members and friends.

She was extremely active in her community and owned and operated Fashion Optical for 25+ years.  She was a proud member of the church choir at Our Lady of Peace, where she had been known to bring her “special” cherries to enjoy after midnight mass.  She was also one of the first females to become a member of the Ironwood Kiwanis Club, and was a member of the Women’s Auxiliary and the list goes on and on.  Shirley was very proud of her community and contributed whenever and wherever she could.

Surviving her in-death are her children and grandchildren, her sister Darlene [Dennis] Pertile of Ironwood, brother Fred [Laura] Dietel of Racine, stepmother Virginia “Great-Grandma Jinx” Dietel of Racine, partner and best friend George Bergquist along with many loving godchildren, nieces, nephews and too many friends to count.

Preceded in death was her husband Raymond of 48 years, newborn son Raymond Arthur, parents Fred and Ila Dietel, paternal parents Bruno and Elsie Pertile, sisters Patricia Fink and Diane Tusa-Moravec.

Theresa, Tammy and Tracy would like to especially thank Debra at Woodland Court, along with all the compassionate, loving and caring nurses, assistants and hospice staff at Ascension Good Samaritan in Merrill, Wisconsin for their strength and guidance during her final days, also a very extra special thank you to Sue, The Chaplin at Good Sam’s for her visits and prayers.

A Mass of Christian Burial for Shirley will be held on Thursday, July 9, 2020 at 11am at Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church, 108 S Marquette Street, Ironwood, Michigan. Father Binu Joseph will preside.  Visitation will be held at the church in the St. Joseph Family Room from 10am until 11am.  Rite of committal and interment will follow at the Riverside Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, Theresa, Tammy and Tracy would like you to make donations to Our Lady of Peace, The Ironwood Depot, Ironwood High School Scholarship Fund or the Ironwood Historical Society, all of which were a few of Shirley’s favorite charities.

Waid Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Merrill is assisting the family with arrangements.  Online condolences are encouraged and may be made at www.waidfuneral.com.