Shirley Sears, 92, of Grinnell, died on Sunday, December 19, 2021, at St. Francis Manor in Grinnell. A funeral service will be held at 10:00 am on Thursday, December 30, 2021, at the Grinnell United Methodist Church with Rev. Eric Schubert officiating. A luncheon will follow the service in the Friendship Center of the church. Burial will be at Chester Cemetery north of Grinnell. Visitation will begin at 2:00 pm on Wednesday, December 29th at the Smith Funeral Home in Grinnell and her family will receive friends from 4:00 pm until 7:00 pm. Memorials may be designated to the Grinnell United Methodist Church or to the Chester Cemetery Association, mailed in care of the Smith Funeral Home, PO Box 368, Grinnell, Iowa 50112. Memories and condolences may be shared with her family online at www.smithfh.com. Shirley Anne Vance was born the daughter of Stanley and Lillian (Tow) Vance on May 11, 1929, in Lincoln, Nebraska. She was raised on a farm outside Dysart and attended school at Geneseo School near Buckingham, Iowa. She attended the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. Shirley was united in marriage to Edgar A. Sears on April 11, 1948, in Dysart, Iowa. Their marriage was blessed with six children, David, James, Pamela, Dan, Jeffrey, and Christopher. They raised their family in Grinnell and Shirley was a longtime employee of 34 years at the Grinnell Herald-Register. Shirley was the treasurer and past president of the American Legion Auxiliary, past president and member of Soroptimist International, treasurer of Goodfellows, member of the Grinnell United Methodist Church, member of the Red Hat Society, and was a volunteer at Grinnell Regional Medical Center, Second Mile, and Goodfellows. Her enjoyments were being with her grandchildren, reading, music, collecting giraffes, and playing bridge. She will be remembered for being kind and gracious, for her faith, and for the strong love of her family. Shirley is survived by her children, Pam (Jack) Montgomery of Grinnell; Jim (Rebecca) Sears of Newton, Jeff (Michelle) Sears of Grinnell; and Chris Sears of Kellogg, IA; 13 grandchildren; 17 great grandchildren; and her sister, Ellen (Bob) Brutsman of Fort Myers, FL. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Edgar Sears in 1969; her sons, Dan Sears in 2018 and Dave Sears in 2021; and her brother, John Vance.