Shirley Mae Mauriala, 88, of Isanti passed over peacefully January 31, 2020 surrounded by her loving family. A memorial service will be held at 6:00 P.M. Thursday, February 6, 2020 at First Baptist Church in St. Francis with a time for visiting one hour prior, food and fellowship following the service. Interment will be at Lakeview Cemetery in Cotton with family. Memorials will be donated to the St Francis Christian School to expand the Hand bell Choir.
Shirley was born March 14, 1931 in Cotton, Minnesota to Finnish Immigrants, John and Eliina (Rajamaki) Laakso, the youngest of 7 children. She attended school in Duluth and Cotton, graduating from Cotton High School in 1949. Shirley enrolled at Northwestern University and graduated in 1953 as a Christian Education Major. On December 28, 1952 she married Paul Mauriala, whom she had known since 1st grade, at the Cotton Covenant Church. They lived in Minneapolis until moving to Isanti in 1966. While raising their children, Shirley worked with students at St. Francis Christian School and was an election judge for Athens Township for many years. She was an active member at First Baptist Church in St. Francis for over 50 years. Her hobbies included needlepoint, crocheting, cross stitch, working on puzzles and playing computer games.
Shirley is survived by her husband of 67 years, Paul; 4 children, John (Debbie), Phil (Karen), Rebecca (Bill) Kuehn, and Ruthy (Jon) Horner; 10 grandchildren, Jonathan, Ben (Nichole), Alysha, Reed, Faith, Joe, Megan (Ryan), Michael, Matt and Zoe; 10 great-grandchildren, Nathen, Hope, Ellie, Dominic, Landon, Addison, Ian, Addilynn, Kai and Aurora; and many other relatives. She was preceded in death by her parents; brothers, Bruno, Eino, Ilmar; and sisters, Aune, Violet Laakso and Ellen Maki; son Paul David.