Shirley Rumack

May 19, 1921 - November 23, 2018

Rumack, Shirley (Nee Kazan) Passed away peacefully on November 23, 2018 at age 97. Beloved wife of the late Alvin Rumack. Preceded in death by son Stevan. Survived by sons Barry (Carol), James (Mary Brzostowicz) and Ronald (Jane); grandchildren Becky Allen (Will), Marc (Beth), Sam, Reid; and great-grandchildren Cody, Alex, Kimberly, Gavin, and Natalie. Special thanks to the caring staff at Ovation Sarah Chudnow. Shirley was a vivacious woman, full of personality, with a smile that could light up a room and make others feel warm and filled with happiness. Shirley married Al in 1941. She loved being a mother to her four boys and provided a beautiful, nurturing, and wonderful life for them. She collaborated with him on a yearbook commemorating Al’s service in WWII with the 1880th Engineer Aviation Battalion, commemorating their role in constructing the Ledo Road in Burma. She hand wrote the "GI Joe" letters home, which were an integral part of the book, in her trademark beautiful flowing script. Always reading and learning, Shirley returned to UWM, and completed her college degree in 1975, graduating with a degree in Library Science. She became the head librarian at Congregation Emanu-El B'ne Jeshurun in Milwaukee and, under her guidance, the library grew to include one of the finest collections of Jewish literature in Wisconsin. She became the main resource and sounding board for the rabbis' sermons and worked tirelessly to assist them. She loved to teach and read to religious school classes of all ages with an enthusiasm that endlessly inspired them. She was honored by having the library commemorated in her name. After Al passed away in 1984, she moved to San Mateo, CA, where she reinvented herself, first as a bank teller and then as a HICAP counselor, subsequently elevated to Program Director, in which capacity she guided hundreds of grateful seniors through the maze of Medicare. After retiring at age 87, she subsequently returned to the Milwaukee area, residing in Mequon in her final days. Shirley will be dearly missed by her family and many friends, whose life she so beautifully touched. Graveside services 3 PM Monday, November 26, 2018 at Second Home Cemetery, 3705 S. 43rd St., Milwaukee. Donations in memory of Shirley can be sent to the Bernice Gratch Children's Library Fund at Congregation Emanu-El B'ne Jeshurun, 2020 W Brown Deer Rd, River Hills, WI 53217, https://www.ceebj.org. Monday only following burial, the family will receive friends at Congregation Emanu-El B'ne Jeshurun.