Shirley B. Thayer

JANESVILLE - Shirley Mae (Brown) Thayer, 87 of Janesville, Wisconsin died peacefully at home on January 19, 2020 surrounded by her loving family following a short illness.   Shirley was born June 3, 1932 in Geneseo, Illinois to Gilbert W. Brown and Mary (Crawford) Brown. She went to school in a one room schoolhouse until the 8th grade. In high school she was active in theater, singing, and was a sought-after soloist at church weddings. She and her friends created a local hangout called The Hubba Hut where they could all dance and hang out.   Shirley attended the University of Illinois where she made lifelong friends and met her first husband Capps B. Sutherland.  They were married in 1950 and had 4 daughters.   Shirley was a devoted mother, very involved with her daughters’ activities, teaching them by example to be independent, fair minded and generous. She loved picnics and celebrating holidays and birthdays with family. She was president of the PTA and co-chaired the Helping Hands initiative in the 60’s to help children have a place to go when they felt unsafe. She was the heart of our family.   Shirley met Richard Thayer, the love of her life when she was working as the Head of Circulation at the Janesville Public Library. They were married August 31, 1968 in Milton, WI with the 4 daughters as attendants. She considered that day to be the happiest day of her life. They soon added a 5th daughter to the family. Shirley was most proud of raising her five daughters and said it was her greatest accomplishment.   They enjoyed doing everything together while raising their family. They loved watching classic movies, playing Scrabble, traveling to see their children and grandchildren, and attending old movie festivals all around the country They were huge fans of the Packers, Milwaukee Bucks, and WNBA games. In August 2008 they had a very special wedding vow renewal ceremony held outdoors at Rotary Gardens for their 40th wedding anniversary with their five daughters as attendants. Their son-in-law Gus (a Buddhist monk) officiated. They enjoyed life together for 47 years until Richard’s death in 2015.   Shirley leaves behind her five devoted daughters, Diane Adams of Missoula, MT; Vikki Sutherland (Tom Barber) of Santa Rosa, CA; Laura Doherty of Janesville; Anita Rockwell (Tom) of Eagan, MN; Marna LaBelle of Janesville, as well as seven grandchildren Tyler Hughes, (Logan),  Erin (Doherty) Batchelder (Dave), Kelly (Doherty) Huntley (Ryan), Casey (Rockwell) Guillitzer (Jamison),  Ben Rockwell, Dalton & Amber LaBelle; and eight great-grandchildren, Violet, Elijah, Javen, Ayla, Greyson, Nya, Sonny, Miles. She was pre-deceased by her beloved husband Richard J. Thayer and son-in-law Gus Adams.   Private services are planned. All Faiths Funeral and Cremation Services of Janesville is honored to be assisting the family. Online condolences and remembrances may be made at: www.866allfaiths.com. We will miss our mother forever. She was a very special mother, grandmother and friend.Heaven is a better place for having her there.  “How lucky are we to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard” -Winnie the Pooh (A.A. Milne)