Florence M. (Wenzel) Shawl

Florence (Wenzel) Shawl, 102, of Woodstock, passed away on December 26th, 2018, at her home.

She was born on October 8, 1916 in Chicago, Illinois to Albert and Florence (Gyger) Wenzel. Her family eventually moved to Wheaton, Illinois where her father owned a grocery store where she worked during high school. After high school, she completed DuPage Business College and went on to become a secretary at the Medical Protective Insurance Company. During this time, she met her future husband, Raymond Shawl, who was completing his studies at Maywood Seminary. They became friends through the Luther League Youth Group meetings at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Wheaton and began dating.

They were engaged on Valentine's Day in 1938 and wanted to wait a year before marrying, but Raymond was called to serve as the minister of a small church in Milledgeville, Illinois and was told that churches preferred pastors to be married, so they moved up their wedding date to July 31, 1938. From there, they served churches together in Riverdale, Woodstock, and Hebron where Florence participated in all activities of the church and women's organizations for over 50 years.

Along with her church and faith, family and friends were most important to her and she wrote many letters and emails to keep in touch with those that were not nearby. She learned how to use a computer when she was in her 80s and loved to email and could be heard Skyping with her sister every day. She also loved to read, especially newspapers, and would read as many as she could on a daily basis.

She is survived by her three children, James (Mary) Shawl, Racine, Wisconsin, Gerald (Eve) Shawl, Eugene, Oregon, and Kristine (Donald) Robinett, Woodstock. Grandchildren, Zachary (Meredith) Robinett, Gretchen (fiancé, Joe Langton) Heeren, and Kevin (Jennifer) Edmondston and great-grandchildren Raymond, Kevin, Brady, Annabella, Kayla, Jade, and Noah. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews and has one surviving sister-in-law, Marguerite Wenzel of Wheaton, who is 101 years old.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Rev. Raymond Shawl in 2004, her siblings, Albert Wenzel, Dorothy Barrett, and James Wenzel, and her parents.

The family would like to thank JourneyCare and the care-givers at BrightStar for the compassionate care given to Florence.

A graveside service will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Grace Lutheran Church, 1300 Kishwaukee Valley Road, Woodstock, IL.

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