Shirley Mae Gray

Shirley Mae (Schandorff) Gray of Albert Lea, Minnesota, passed away on Monday, December 23, 2024, at her home surrounded by her family. She was 89 years old.

Shirley Mae Gray

Shirley was born on December 12, 1935, in Luck, Wisconsin, to Fred and Lena (Loew) Schandorff. She grew up and went to school in Milltown, Luck, and Frederic, Wisconsin. She was baptized and confirmed on April 30, 1950 at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Bone Lake, Wisconsin. On September 6, 1953, she married Doran Gray in Braham, Minnesota. They raised four children, Cindy (Sam) Breeggemann, Debbie (Larry) Miller, Vickie (Darrell) Storlie, and Mike (Lorene) Gray, and six foster children. The family also lived in West Union, Minnesota, and Twin Lakes, Minnesota.

She was a member of Hayward Lutheran Church, Hayward, Minnesota, a caring volunteer at the Albert Lea Salvation Army food pantry, an avid blood donor for the American Red Cross having donated nearly 20 gallons, a NASCAR fan, a die-hard Minnesota Twins fan, and a knitter of 750+ children’s stocking caps for Samaritan’s Purse’s Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. Along with knitting and crocheting, she enjoyed gardening, nurturing flowers, bird watching, and handing out homemade cookies to the neighbor children. She loved old time country music, wrote several gospel songs, and graced many family events with the reading of a poem that she had written for the occasion!

In addition to being a stay-at-home mom, she worked for 13 years at the Donut Kettle in Albert Lea. She and Doran also ran their Craft Country business of making and selling wooden crafts until retiring in 2003.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her sisters: Verlene (Reynold) Peterson of Luck, Wisconsin; and Dorothy (Rick) Olson of Frederic, Wisconsin; and three brothers: Leonard Schandorff of Luck, Wisconsin; Gordon (Dora Anne) Schandorff of Colmesneil, Texas; and Vernon (Erma) Schandorff of Ft. Worth, Texas; one grandson Nathan Breeggemann; and one great-grandson Samuel Bollinger.

She is survived by her husband Doran, her four children, her sister-in-law Betty Schandorff, 12 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren with one more arriving in March, and numerous nieces and nephews.

The Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, January 11, 2025 at Hayward Lutheran Church at 11:00 a.m. with visitation 1 hour prior to the service. Address: 200 Main St., Hayward MN 56043. You are invited to wear red (her favorite color) or Minnesota Twins gear to the Celebration of Life.

Honorary Pall Bearers: Josh & Levi Breeggemann, Jon & Peter Gray, Heidi Miller, and Vanessa Storlie.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to Hayward Lutheran Church Food for Backpacks, Hayward Lutheran Church General Fund, or ELCA World Hunger.

The family would like to thank the St. Croix Hospice Team for their loving care of our wife/mother.