Shirley Jean Raab

May 25, 1925 - May 16, 2022

Shirley Jean (Knapp) Raab, age 96, died May 16, 2022 in Fort Collins, Colorado. She was born May 25, 1925 to Ward and Blanche (Hasbrook) Knapp in Westfield, Iowa. She lived her life near Westfield, graduating from high school there in 1942. She attended Wayne State College in Nebraska, graduating in 1945 with a B.F.A. degree. She married Wallace Raab on May 31, 1947 in Sioux City, Iowa. She received her Ed.D. in 1969 from the University of South Dakota and was a teaching assistant in the Business Education Department while working on her doctorate. Dr. Raab taught at Western Iowa Tech Community College for 19 years. She also taught at the high school level and had business office experience. She was a member of Delta Pi Epsilon. In 1978, Dr. Raab was included in the first edition of The World Who’s Who of Women in Education . Preceding her in death were her parents, brothers Jack and Randall Knapp, husband Wallace, and sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Juanita and Jack Cook, of Sergeant Bluff, IA. Shirley loved music, played saxophone in her college jazz band and was an excellent pianist. She liked going dancing with her husband. She also enjoyed traveling and was an avid bridge player. She took pleasure in spending time with her daughter, Roberta of West St. Paul, MN and son, Richard (Pam) of Fort Collins, CO and grandchildren Jordan and Andrea (Elias). She also lived long enough to meet her two great grandchildren, Beckett and Jones. Family graveside services will be held at a later date at Bluff View Cemetery, Vermillion, South Dakota.