Shirley Mae Luecke

Shirley died on Wed. Apr. 27 in Houston, TX after a long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. She was 86 years young.

Shirley was born on Oct. 5, 1929 in St. Louis, MO. She was the first child of Elmer and Frieda Huch.

After graduating from Roosevelt High School in St. Louis in 1948, Shirley went to work for Brown Shoe Co. as a filing clerk. Some time later, her Aunt Eva (Stumpf), who worked for Anheuser-Busch, told her about a job opening there, and the rest was history. While attending an orientation meeting, she met a guy named Frank Luecke who eventually swept her off her feet. They married on July 25, 1953 and together raised 8 children.

For the first 22 years of their marriage, Frank and Shirley lived mostly in St. Louis with a couple of brief moves to Chicago and Memphis. Shirley was a dedicated wife, mother and homemaker. And according to her kids, she was an awesome Mom! In Sept. 1974, Frank bought Tommy’s Dist. Co. in Poplar Bluff. Eric and Kurt followed Frank in Jan. 1975, then Shirley and the rest of the kids moved to PB the following summer.

Frank died on Oct. 12, 1984 at 53 yrs old. Shirley went on to continue raising her family and enjoying all the grandkids that kept on coming. Shirley has 23 grandkids and 15 great-grandkids. She was an active member of Sacred Heart Church: member of St. Ann Society and school board.

Shirley loved animals, birds and the beauty of nature. She always had a dog and was known for taking in stray cats and giving them a home in her cooled and heated garage. She also had a fondness for the American Indians and their culture. In her later years, she loved to travel with her kids, see the countryside and enjoy the journey.

Shirley moved to Houston in Nov. 2010 to live with her daughter Joan Boyer. In Dec. 2013 she moved into AutumnGrove Cottage, an Alzheimer’s Care Home, where she lived out her days with the love and tender support of many kind caregivers.

Shirley was preceded in death by her husband Frank (Oct. 12, 1984) and their eldest son Kurt Luecke (Sept. 12, 2014). She is survived by her 7 children: Jan (Bob) Leible and Mary (Tommy) Armes of Poplar Bluff, Joan (Carl) Boyer and Eric (Carol) Luecke of Houston, Karl (Lisa) Luecke of Long Beach, CA, Teresa Luecke Smith of St. Louis and Carolyn (Kelley) Lackey of Emporia, KS. She is also survived by two brothers, Gene (Barb) Huch of Centerville, OH and Ron (Barb) Huch of Los Gatos, CA.

Her visitation will be on Fri. May 6 at Cottrell Funeral Service, 701 Vine St. in Poplar Bluff from 6-8 pm. The funeral will be Sat. May 7 at 10:30 a.m. at Sacred Heart Church, 123 8th St., Poplar Bluff, MO 63901. Burial will follow at the Catholic Cemetery (Butler St. and S.11th St).

Memorials in honor of Shirley can be made to the Sacred Heart School Playground Fund, 111 N. 8th St. Poplar Bluff, MO 63901 or the Alzheimer’s Association.