Shirley Weaver Howard, 75, formerly of Kane, Pa., passed away early Tuesday, October 6, 2009, under the care of the Daughters of St. Francis of Assisi, St. Joseph Nursing Home, in Lacon, Ill., where she had resided for the past 17 months.

Born January 20, 1934, in Kane, she was a daughter of the late Charles and Mabel Brown Weaver. On July 17, 1953, at St. Callistus Church in Kane, she married James A. Howard, who preceded her in death.

After she and her husband relocated several times with the military, they settled in Warner Robins, Ga. until 1998. They then retired to Athens, Tenn., where they lived until her husband's death in 2003. For the next several years, she lived with her children until moving to St. Joseph's in Illinois to be near her daughter.

She was very active in her local Catholic churches, Council of Catholic Women, Marriage Encounter, Cursillo and Youth Ministry, as well as ministry to the ill and homebound.

Surviving are six children, Junnie (Jim) Winters of Warner Robins, Drenda (Tim) Collins of Maryland, Steve (Glenda) Howard of Texas, Richard (Scarlet) Howard of Georgia, Shirlene (Jeff) McCormick of Illinois and John (Kerry) Howard of Georgia; 14 grandchildren; one great grandchild; five sisters, June Fleeger, Mary Millard and Alice Harlan, all of Warren, Betty Oesterling of Georgia and Arlene Fede of New York; one brother, Richard Weaver of Virginia; and several nieces and nephews.

In addition to her husband and parents, she was preceded in death by a brother, James Weaver.

Friends will be received at the Cummings Funeral Home, Inc. in Kane from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Callistus Catholic Church. Burial will be at St. Callistus Cemetery.

Memorial donations in Shirley Howard's honor may be made to St. Joseph's Nursing Home, 401 9th Street, Lacon, IL 61540.

Online condolences can be expressed at www.cummingsfh.com.