Gwendolyn Elizabeth Shipman

THE MIDDLE CHILD OF JOHN AND CORA DOROTHY (FLETCHER) COOK WAS BORN ON AUGUST 22, 1925, IN LANSING, MICHIGAN, IN HER PARENTS’ LIVING ROOM. GRADUATING FROM LANSING EASTERN HIGH SCHOOL, CLASS OF 1942, SHE LIVED MUCH OF HER LIFE IN LANSING AND BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN, BEFORE MOVING TO HOBE SOUND, FLORIDA, IN 1965.

EARLY ON, GWEN WAS EMPLOYED BY REO IN LANSING, WHERE, EVEN THOUGH SHE WAS A WOMAN, SHE ENJOYED WORKING IN THE GREASE PITS. HER NEXT JOB WAS AS A DEPARTMENT MANAGER AT SEARS ROEBUCK IN LANSING, AND LATER ON, IN BATTLE CREEK. AFTER BEING THE BOOKKEEPER FOR 22 YEARS AT THE JUPITER ISLAND CLUB IN JUPITER, FLORIDA, SHE RETIRED IN 1990. SHE LOVED WORKING, AND EXCELLED IN EVERY JOB SHE HELD.

GWEN WAS BAPTIZED AT THE GRACE PLACE CHURCH IN STUART, FLORIDA, ALONG SIDE HER HUSBAND, ROY. THEIR FAITH VISABLY GUIDED THEIR LIFE STYLE. SHE FELT DEEPLY THAT, WHEN YOU AWAKE IN THE MORNING, YOU COULD CHOOSE TO BE SAD OR YOU COULD CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY, AND SHE CHOSE TO BE HAPPY! UNTIL THE END OF HER LIFE, GWEN COULD PROUDLY RECITE THE 23RD PSALM FROM MEMORY. AS SHE TRUSTED GOD’S WILL AND WAY FOR HER LIFE, SHE WOULD OFTEN ENCOURAGE OTHERS BY EXPRESSING THAT, “THIS, TOO, SHALL PASS.”

AS A CHILD, GWEN LEARNED HOW TO RUN A MANGLE TO IRON CLOTHES. HER MOTHER TAUGHT HER HOW TO TAT, EMBROIDER, KNIT, AND CROCHET. MANY WARM MEMORIES WERE MADE ON FAMILY CAMPING TRIPS TO GRAND HAVEN, MICHIGAN. ROLLER SKATING WAS HER FAVORITE PASSTIME GROWING UP, WEARING CLAMP-ON SKATES, OF COURSE! SUMMERS SPENT AT THE FAMILY COTTAGE ON MORRISON LAKE WERE CHERISHED, WITH SWIMMING, FISHING, BOATING, AND SKIING. SHE WAS AN ENTHUSIASTIC AND COMPETITIVE PLAYER OF GAMES, BOTH INDOORS AND OUTSIDE—JACKS, PICK-UP-STICKS, PING PONG, SOFTBALL, VOLLEYBALL, BOWLING, EUCHRE, PINOCHLE, BADMINTON, RUMMIKUB, JIGSAW PUZZLES, AND MANY VARIED BOARD GAMES. ANNUAL TRIPS WITH THE LADIES OF THE FAMILY TO LAS VEGAS BROUGHT HER IMMENSE PLEASURE PLAYING THE SLOT MACHINES. SHE COULD NEVER BRING HERSELF TO LEAVE ONE UNTIL SHE HAD PUT ALL OF HER WINNINGS BACK IN!

SHE DEEPLY VALUED FRIENDS AND FAMILY, AND HOSTED ANNUAL FAMILY REUNIONS AT HER HOME IN HOBE SOUND, FLORIDA. WALKS ON THE ATLANTIC OCEAN BEACH, POOL VOLLEYBALL, PATIO LUNCHES, AND GAME PLAYING MADE SWEET MEMORIES FOR ALL.

GWEN MET HER FUTURE HUSBAND WHILE IN 8TH GRADE. HE WAS FIVE YEARS HER SENIOR, AND SHE FELT SASSY RIDING IN HIS MODEL A FORD THAT HE HAD PURCHASED FOR ONLY $35. SHE AND ROY ALLEN SHIPMAN, JR., MARRIED IN 1942, AND SHARED 69 YEARS TOGETHER UNTIL ROY’S PASSING IN 2012. TOGETHER, THEY HAD THREE CHILDREN, RON, JOYCE, AND CAROL. RON PASSED IN 2010, AND JOYCE PASSED IN 2018, LEAVING THE YOUNGEST, CAROL.

MANY PRECIOUS ONES WILL MOURN GWEN’S PASSING, INCLUDING: DAUGHTER CAROL (BILL) ROWELL; GRANDCHILDREN GARY (LORI) SHIPMAN; DAVE (LORI, DECEASED 2026) HULING; DAWN (DUKE) CAIN; DOUG (KAREN) DeLAND; TIM (JAIMIE) SHIPMAN; JEFF MAEHRE; KELLI (RICK) SCOTT; AND MIKE (MICHELLE) ELROD; SON-IN-LAW ALAN ELYEA; DAUGHTERS-IN-LAW COLEEN SHIPMAN AND CLAUDIA SHIPMAN; ALONG WITH MANY VERY SPECIAL STEP-GRAND- AND GREAT-GRANDCHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES, NIECES, NEPHEWS, AND LONG-TIME FRIENDS WHO BROUGHT SO MUCH “HAPPY” TO HER LIFE.

CREMATION HAS TAKEN PLACE. A FAMILY GET-TGETHER WILL BE FORTHCOMING TO CELEBRATE A LIFE WELL LIVED AND FOREVER LOVED