Shirley Adams

Shirley Adams, 78, of Palestine, IL, passed away on August 2, 2026, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Vincennes, IN. Born in Chicago on August 20, 1947, she spent her childhood on the move. Her dad was a truck driver, and Shirley and her family followed him from place to place. She came of age in Phoenix, AZ, graduating from Carl Hayden High School, and it was there she met her first husband and began building a family.

Her boys were born in Phoenix, and Shirley worked in nearby Scottsdale during those years. When her first husband came home from Vietnam, he came home changed, and in time, she and the boys left Arizona and moved to Illinois to live with her mom. She arrived with next to nothing to her name and picked up work wherever she could find it. She waited tables at the Jitterbug and the Sugar Bowl and took whatever work she could find, sometimes holding down three jobs at once when that was what it took.

FairRite gave Shirley the steady footing she had been working toward, and she stayed on as office manager for twenty-six years. Soon after, she served her community for several years as the Village Clerk of Palestine. In that role, she formed a lasting friendship with the mayor, Pat Schofield, one that continued well beyond the years they served together. That friendship was one of many, because relationships were the center of Shirley's life. She stayed close with her brother-in-law Leo Adams and his wife Phyllis, and she always looked forward to time with her friends Wanda Healy and Valeta Willis. The three of them shared many a shopping spree, going out to eat and running around finding things to buy. It was never really about what ended up in the bags. It was about being together.

That was true of her family most of all. She treasured her time with her mother, and the two of them loved slipping off to the casino to play the penny slots. Not even hitting a turkey on one drive over was enough to keep them from going. Back home, she delighted in family get-togethers, loving nothing more than having her boys and grandchildren gathered close. And wherever her people were, Shirley had a way of making things better. She had this instinctive way of turning toward the lighter side of things, always with a joke ready, always telling her boys to chipper up and keep the faith.

It went well beyond the jokes, though. Shirley carried her care for others all the way to the end. In her last days, when the visits were for her, she still asked after her friends and still wanted to know how you were doing, turning the attention outward when anyone else would have kept it for themselves. And still, she laughed. Even in those final days she was smiling, her laugh as unforgettable as ever, because joy like that comes from somewhere. For Shirley, it came from the Lord.

Faith was not one part of her life so much as the thread running through all of it. Shirley loved the Lord and kept her trust in Him until the very end. She was faithful to her church, worshiping first at Outer West Market and later at Palestine First Christian, where she gave of herself as a greeter, a video operator, and wherever else she could serve to bless her Savior and her family in Christ. She did all of it until her body could no longer keep up, and still, she watched every Sunday on Facebook, her devotion undiminished by distance or circumstance. That distance is no more. She who worshiped by faith now worships by sight, as Shirley is home at last with the One she trusted all along.

She is survived by her sons, Jeff (Stacy) Goodland, Greg (Tania) Goodland, and Chad (Amy) Adams; by her son-in-law, Ryan Strange; her grandchildren, Zach Goodland, Nick Pfeifer, Tanner Miller, Cody Miller, Tim Ward, Taylor Strange, Emma Strange, Logan Hutchens, Madison Adams, Kaley Metzger, Brianna Nidey, Preston Nidey, and Jessica Henry; by several great-grandchildren; by her sister-in-law, Katherine Robinson; by her brother-in-law, Leo (Phyllis) Adams; and by several nieces and nephews.

She married Alan Adams on September 29, 1984, and he preceded her in death on October 15, 2002. She was also preceded in death by her parents, Lloyd (Shirley) Robinson & Mary (Forrest) Devin; her daughter, April Strange; her brother, Dennis P. Robinson; her sister, Sandy Huffstickler; and her sister-in-law, Anita Branum.

A time of visitation will be held from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. on Friday, August 7th, at the Goodwine Funeral Home in Palestine. Funeral services will immediately follow at 2:00 p.m., with Celebrant Curt Goodwine officiating. Memorial contributions may be made to the "American Cancer Society", with envelopes available at the funeral home. Burial will be in the Palestine Cemetery.