SHIRLEY L. BOETTNER (Age 90)
Died peacefully at Riderwood Village in Silver Spring, MD on Saturday, May 31, 2014 after losing her battle with cancer. Born in Geneva, NE on July 6, 1923, Shirley was a 58 year resident of Silver Spring. Music was her lifelong passion. She started teaching piano at age 15 and continued to do so for the next 74 years. She graduated from the University of Nebraska with a BS in Music and taught in a Nebraska public school until her marriage in 1944. Shirley was an avid Bridge player, enjoyed gardening and bowling and was active in her church and church choir. She was also active in the Women’s Club of Silver Spring, serving in several offices, including President. She was preceded in death by her mother and father, John R. and Nellie Raymer Smith of Hickman, NE and her sister, Nancy Chittenden of Dallas, TX. She is survived by her husband of 69 years, Erven E. Boettner, three sons, Terry, Robert and William, three grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, a brother, Robert S. Smith of Tulsa, OK, ten nieces and nephews and hundreds of former piano students and friends. We will all miss her dearly. A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, June 21, 2014 at Christ Congregational Church, 9525 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring, MD at 11 a.m. A reception with light refreshments will immediately follow the Memorial Service. Burial will be at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in her memory to the American Cancer Society , the Silver Spring Women’s Club Scholarship Fund or Christ Congregational Church.
