Shirley Botker

December 6, 1930 — February 14, 2024

Clinton

Shirley Botker, age 93, of Clinton, MN, passed away on Wednesday, February 14, 2024, at Peaceful Pines Senior Living in Milbank, SD.

Memorial services will be held on Sunday, February 18, 2024, at 2:30 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church in Clinton, MN. Visitation will be held an hour prior to the service at the church on Sunday. Minister Jim Rach will officiate, and inurnment will be at Clinton City Cemetery at a later date.

The service will be livestreamed and recorded and will be viewable at the bottom of this page.

Shirley Jane Robertson was born December 6, 1930, to Carl and Minnie (DeFreese) Robertson at Worthington Hospital in Worthington, MN. Shirley grew up on a farm in Nobles County, was baptized and confirmed at First Lutheran Church in Worthington. She attended country school through 3rd grade, then attended the Worthington schools and graduated in 1949. Shirl would have graduated in 1948, but missed an entire year of school due to rheumatic fever, which left her bed-ridden for 4-5 months. Upon graduation, she worked as an office clerk at Minnesota Natural Gas Company in Worthington. In 1952, Shirley began her studies at Lutheran Bible Institute in Minneapolis to prepare herself for parish work in the Lutheran Church. She worked part-time at the headquarters of the Augustana Luther League in Minneapolis during this time. She went on to serve full-time at parishes in Duluth, MN, Helena, MT, Portland, OR, and then for a brief time in Omaha, NE.

Shirl married Donald Botker on July 9, 1965. To this union, two sons were born, Steven in 1967 and Mark in 1968. Steven passed away at age five from a farming accident in 1972. Steven had requested a sister to join the family, so the Botkers adopted Kim from Korea in 1974. Don and Shirl farmed in the Clinton area after marriage, and then moved to Ortonville in 1997 where they lived on the peninsula and then on the golf course.

Shirl enjoyed being a part of Christian Women’s Club and Red Hatters. She was a dedicated volunteer at Someplace Safe, the Big Stone County Food Shelf, the Rice Hospice program, and she also served as a Girl Scout leader for many years. Shirl loved being an active member of Trinity Lutheran Church, quilting, teaching Sunday School, participating in the ladies groups and working in the kitchen were some of her favorites. Shirl could tell you exactly how many plates the church had at any given moment. She also enjoyed fishing, camping, bowling, gardening, sweet corn season, crossword puzzles, and making homemade cards. Overall, Shirl loved spending time with her family, attending their many sporting activities with popcorn in hand and getting a chance to chat with everyone around brought her so much joy.

Shirl would also look forward to planning the next family reunion or holiday gathering, making sure that she knew what everyone was bringing to the “planned potluck”. She was a meticulous homemaker and an excellent cook. You would often find her in the kitchen around numerous recipe books and recipe cards, ready to make the next meal or snack, often to share with family, friends, or neighbors. Her grandchildren always knew exactly where to find the homemade Chex mix, frosted sugar cookies, and crescent rolls.