Held, Shirley (September 21, 1938 – March 24, 2025)
Shirley Held joined the Woman’s Club of Springfield in 1997 when her family settled in Springfield after her husband’s career serving in the US Navy. We remember her as a woman of strong faith, kindness, and positive spirit. Shirley and her husband spent many winters living in Key Largo, having fallen in love with the Florida Keys when stationed in Key West. Shirley was a cheerful volunteer at the Pink Elephant Thrift Shop and was Good Cheer Co-Chair for many years. Supporting Club projects, she made many baby blankets for our layette program and sewed heart pillows for Mended Hearts. Shirley loved wearing hats, and we all loved having her wear one at several of our occasions. She will be remembered and greatly missed.
Wiedmann, Doris (September 10, 1937 – July 26, 2024)
Doris was blessed with many lifelong friendships and enjoyed needlework, researching ancestry, playing computer games, and collecting spoons, blue bottles, teacups, Santas, bunnies, pink elephants, and many other items. She designed and built many miniature houses. Her true passion was community service with her friends in the Woman’s Club of Springfield and its Pink Elephant Thrift Shop. She served as president of the Club, historian, and treasurer of the thrift store. She will be missed by Club members and patrons of the shop.
Edson, Susan Crupper (September 10, 1952 – April 8, 2022)
On April 8, 2022 our Club lost our 26 year member, Susan Crupper Edson. Her ties to our Club and the Springfield community were lifelong, and her contributions much appreciated. She served as our Club President 3 terms, authored our newsletter and membership yearbooks, and was Northern District credentials chairman for many years. She faithfully worked at our Club’s Pink Elephant Thrift Shop on Saturdays. Her passing leaves a hole in the hearts of Club members and customers alike.
D’Andrea, Carol (December 12, 1947 – May 1, 2018)
Carol D’Andrea came to join our club after retiring from her career as a mathematician at IBM (helped develop Bar Codes.) Besides being technically skilled, she loved dogs, enjoyed antiques and arts and crafts, earning recognition and awards for her cross-stitch, crocheting, and quilling. She loved working at our Club’s Pink Elephant Thrift Shop for several years. When our members could no longer operate the shop as we had for 40+ years with manual records, she convinced us to modernize, converting all our records and operations to a computer/digital system. She worked every day for months teaching our staff to use the computer properly, becoming the manager of all operations. Her efforts literally saved the Pink Elephant Shop, allowing us to continue our work there for many additional years. (The shop was forced to close in 2024 when we lost our lease.) When we all became more proficient at the shop, Carol agreed to represent our Club as its President. Sadly, health issues became severe, and she was lost to us. We are forever grateful for her priceless contributions to the Woman’s Club of Springfield.