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OBITUARY

Shirley Jean (Hendrikson) Schaus

06/05/1935 - 07/11/2025

Shirley Jean (Hendrikson) Schaus, age 90, passed away and entered her Heavenly Home on July 11, 2025, surrounded by her loving family at her home in Bellflower, CA. She was born on June 5, 1935, the twin daughter of Maurice and Ruth (Voigt) Hendrikson. Shirley was baptized into God’s family on July 7, 1935, at St John’s Ev. Lutheran Church of Portage, WI and confirmed her faith in Christ on April 10, 1949. As she faithfully followed Jesus, that journey led her into ministry both in the United States and across the world.

Shirley attended St. John’s Lutheran School in Portage through eighth grade (June 1949), Portage Senior High School (June 1953), and completed her teaching B.S. degree at Concordia Teachers College in River Forest, IL (June 1957). Shirley taught 1st and 2nd Grades at First Lutheran School in Venice, CA for ten years and then established and taught Kindergarten at St. Paul’s Lutheran School in Pomona, CA for two years.

On December 21, 1968, she married the love of her life, Marvin W. Schaus at First Lutheran Church in Venice, CA. They were blessed with three sons Timothy (stillborn August 6, 1972), Nathan and Jonathan. She greatly enjoyed her three grandchildren: Anna, Timothy, and Rachel Schaus.

Shirley is survived by her husband, Marvin; her sons Nathan and Jonathan; her daughter-in-law Elizabeth; her three grandchildren; her sister Betty (Hendrikson) Johnson; and many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, her twin sister, Sharon (Hendrikson) Schaus, her brother Pastor James Hendrikson, and her youngest sister Judith (Hendrikson) Bowser.

Shirley and her husband, Marvin, served as Bible-translation missionaries with Lutheran Bible Translators (LBT) for the Gola people in Liberia, West Africa, beginning in February 1982 until they retired from ministry with LBT in 2002. This vital bible translation work was carried on by others in Liberia so that the Gola New Testament was ultimately dedicated in Tubmanburg, Liberia on March 8, 2020. Shirley and Marvin were overjoyed and humbled that God used them as a part of this undertaking.

Throughout her life, Shirley was a faithful participant in God’s family through her active involvement in Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML), church choirs, quilting, crafting, and helping to create and run an annual church yard sale at her home church, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Downey, CA.

 A memorial service will take place at 11:30am on Friday, July 25, 2025 at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Downey, CA with a luncheon to follow. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be given to Lutheran Bible Translators at lbt.org (dedicated to Shirley Schaus).

MEMORIAL SERVICE

Friday – July 25, 2025
11:30 AM

GOOD SHEPHERD LUTHERAN CHURCH
Street Address: 13200 COLUMBIA WAY
City: DOWNEY
State / Province: CA
Postal / Zip Code: 90242

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