Shirley Atwood

Minot

Shirley Atwood, 83, Minot, ND, and Powers Lake, ND, passed away Saturday, April 25, 2026, at Trinity Hospital.

Shirley Arlene Anderson was born June 17, 1942, the daughter of Lawrence and Edna (Lien) Anderson in Powers Lake, North Dakota. She was raised and educated near Woburn, ND, south of Flaxton, where she attended grade school at a country school. Her family later moved to the farm northeast of Powers Lake, ND. She attended Lucy Country School through 8th grade and graduated from Powers Lake High School in 1960. Following high school, Shirley attended Minot State Teacher’s College, where she received her teacher’s certificate.

Shirley met Raymond Atwood while attending college. They were married on June 8, 1963. They made their home in New Town, ND, where they both taught for three years. They then moved to Minot so Shirley could continue college while Raymond taught at Erik Ramstad Middle School. In 1967, she graduated with her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education with minors in Music Education and Home Economics.

For two years, she taught 3rd grade at Longfellow Elementary School in Minot. In 1969, she and Raymond moved back to the farm where she grew up, where they began farming and raising cattle.

Shirley and Raymond were blessed with three children, Melissa, Kim, and Travis.

After a few years of being a homemaker and farmwife, Shirley went back to teaching in various part-time positions in Flaxton and Bowbells and then full-time at Powers Lake. She taught Kindergarten through 6th grade and elementary music. Many of her students remember her bringing her autoharp to class. Shirley retired from teaching in 2005.

Shirley enjoyed sewing and quilting. She had a big garden and canned lots of vegetables and pickles every year. She loved flowers, whether spotting the first crocus of spring, enjoying the tiger lilies and wildflower bouquets hand-picked by Raymond, or nurturing the numerous flowers she planted in her garden. She also enjoyed baking all kinds of goodies including special birthday cakes for her family, bars, cookies, and bread. Sometimes these activities were interrupted when she answered Raymond’s calls to pull out the tractor or run to town for a part.

She loved music and playing the piano and organ. She taught piano lessons and was known for her soprano voice. She sang in high school and college choirs along with weddings, funerals and special music at church. She was an avid reader, especially reading and studying the Bible.

Shirley had a strong faith in Jesus Christ as her Savior. She served in many church activities, including leading a women’s community Bible study called Seekers for many years.

Shirley cherished her grandchildren, having tea parties with her granddaughter and beating her grandsons at UNO.

Her loving family includes: husband of 62 years, Raymond Atwood; children, Melissa (Brian) Wilson, Kimberly Atwood, and Travis (Christina) Atwood; grandsons, Ashwin Wilson, Rohit Wilson, and Rahul Wilson; granddaughter, Jordyn Atwood; along with numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. She was preceded in death by her parents, Lawrence and Edna Anderson; sister, LaVonne Monge; along with several sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law.

Funeral: Wednesday, May 20, 2026, 11:00 am at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Minot.

Interment: McKinney Township Cemetery, rural Tolley, ND.

Visitation: One hour prior to the service.

Family and friends are invited to gather to honor and remember Shirley’s life on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm in the Third Floor Club Room at Somerset Court Assisted Living, 1900 28th St SW in Minot.

The service will be livestreamed for the public to view and can be accessed by going to the Our Savior Lutheran Church website: https://www.oslcminot.com/watch

Those wishing to sign the online register and share memories may access the online obituaries section at (www.thompsonlarson.com).

Published by The Minot Daily News, May 16, 2026.