Shirley Joyce Wilson

Shirley Joyce (Sarver) Wilson, age 91, of Charleston, IL passed away on Thursday, May 28, 2026, at Charleston Rehabilitation and Health Care Center. A memorial service in her honor will be held at 11:00 AM, Thursday, June 18, 2026, at Central Christian Church, 915 W. Lincoln Avenue, Charleston, IL 61920. Pastor Ryan Brown will officiate. Burial will take place at Roselawn Cemetery, in Charleston, IL. The visitation will be held at 10:00 AM until the time of service at the church. Mitchell-Jerdan Funeral Home, located at 1200 Wabash Avenue, Mattoon, IL 61938 is in charge of services. Shirley was born in Herrick, Illinois in 1934, the first child of Forest William and Jewel Faythe (Bumgardner) Sarver. She married Roy Eldo Wilson Jr. on April 29, 1955, in Charleston, IL; he preceded her in death on January 17, 2008. She is survived by her sons Bruce Wilson and wife Karen, and Richard Wilson; grandchildren Jake Wilson and wife Nikki, Caitlin Wilson, Jared Wilson, and Garrett Wilson and wife Victoria; great grandchildren MacKenzie, Charlotte, Olivia and Lilliana Wilson; beloved niece Cheryl Roy, nephew Daniel Reich and sister in-law Geraldine Sarver. She is proceeded in death by her husband Roy Wilson, son Mark Wilson and granddaughter Laura Wilson, brother Forest Hugh Sarver. Shirley graduated from Herrick High School, salutatorian in 1952. The day after graduation she tagged along with her friend to Decatur, Illinois, who had been hired by ADM to work in the office. ADM hired Shirley also, so she spent her first summer after high school there. At the end of the summer of 1952 with a PTA tuition scholarship, and a good job at Orndorff’s Grocery Store on 4th Street, she moved to Charleston, Illinois and started taking classes at Eastern Illinois Teacher College. She majored in business because she never thought she would be a teacher. The summer after her sophomore year she took a job with a resort in Michigan and then moved back to Herrick thinking she was done with school and would marry her high school sweetheart. However, her dad had other ideas. On registration day at Eastern, her dad woke her up early and said, “Get dressed and packed, you are going back to school.” He took her to Charleston, got her registered, found her an apartment and left her to work out the details. She went on a double date with her roommate and the next day her roommate’s date called Shirley for a date and in four months she had married Roy Eldo Wilson a Charleston towny. That summer in 1955 they moved to Erie, Pennsylvania where Roy had been tasked with the assignment to set up a home construction prefab factory for the Reasor Corporation who was expanding from Mattoon into the northeast. That December on Christmas Eve Shirley gave birth to her first son Roy Bruce Wilson and then in March of 1958 she had her second son, Mark James Wilson who died in a drowning accident in 1962. In late summer of 1961, they moved back to Charleston because Roy was transferred back to the Reasor Corporation in Mattoon where he soon became a vice president. Shirley went back to Eastern and got her teaching certificate, graduating in 1962 then gave birth to her third son, Richard Lee Wilson in March of 1964. Then in the fall of 1965 she began teaching the 5th grade in Mattoon where she taught both the 5th & 6th grades for 29 years. Shirley attended the Central Christian Church in Charleston where she enjoyed Bible Study and fellowship. She was a member of the NEA, book clubs and bridge clubs. She enjoyed aquarobics and water volleyball at the YMCA. She was an avid gardener, she frequented the public library, and she enjoyed knitting and crocheting. Most of all, she adored talking to everyone she met, telling stories, and generally wearing out her granddaughter and caregiver Caitlin. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Central Christian Church of Charleston, Charleston Public Library or Mattoon Area Family YMCA. Please visit www.mitchell-jerdan.com or www.facebook.com/mitchelljerdanfuneralhome to light a candle in her honor or share a memory with the family.

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Shirley Joyce Wilson

July 6, 1934 - May 28, 2026