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Obituaries » Sheila B. Zelner

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May 21, 1933 - January 4, 2019

A private family service will be in held in the spring.  Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Southwest Michigan, c/o the funeral home.

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Age 85, passed peacefully into the arms of God on Friday, January 4, 2019. Sheila was born in Guelph, Wellington, Ontario, on May 21, 1933, the daughter of Lloyd and Marion (Burns) Forbes.  Sheila lived her life for her family.  She married the love of her life, Harry Lee Zelner in 1953, and began their married life in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, at Fort Knox.  Following Lee’s discharge from the army, they purchased a home in Redford, Michigan where they lived and raised their family for almost 40 years.  After dad’s retirement they moved to Gladwin to enjoy the “Haven”, the retirement home they built on the Tittabawassee River.  In 2007, they moved to their new home in Waterloo, Indiana, to be closer to family.  In June of 2009, mom was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer and began her 9 1/2 year journey fighting the disease.  Sheila lost Lee in 2013 and her son, Bruce, in 2015.  She remained in her home with daughter-in-law, Jackie, until moving to Kalamazoo, Michigan, with son, Brian & wife Donna in November of 2018. Sheila had many passions in life; baking, baseball, politics, and family! She had a sweet-tooth and one of her favorite things to do was to bake and watch the Great British Baking Show.  She was introduced to baseball by her father when she was 12 and had been an avid Tiger’s fan ever since.  She was very involved with world events and kept up on all the current issues of the day and wasn’t afraid to voice her political opinion.  Lastly, she was devoted to her family.  She was an awesome wife, mother, grandmother, & great-grandmother and enjoyed spending time outdoors, camping, painting ceramics, and keeping close with the family, either by visits, telephone or her IPad.  She loved all of her “grand pets” and was thrilled to have Vee the cat grace her with his presence on her lap.  Upon learning of the resurgence of her cancer, she decided not to pursue any further treatment and to live life to the fullest.  She was self-less caring person, never wishing to draw attention to herself or her needs, it was always about someone else.  Sheila entered hospice care on December 14 and her greatest wish was to be with the family for the Christmas holiday.  She got her wish and was even able to ring in the New Year. Sheila is survived by her sons, Brian L. (Donna) Zelner of Kalamazoo, MI, Kyle F. (Tisha) Zelner of Hattiesburg, MS; a daughter in law, Jackie Zelner of Ft. Wayne, IN; grandchildren, Dana L. Zelner & Ryan Rufe of Parma, OH, Erin (Craig) Nichols of Kalamazoo, Joshua J. Zelner of Garrett, IN, and Ashley M. Zelner, of Ft. Wayne, IN; great-grandchildren Robert L. Gudin, Autumn M. Gudin, Bryan S. Rufe, all of Parma, OH.  Sheila was predeceased in death by her parents, her husband, Harry, her son, Bruce, a brother, Douglas, and a sister, Judy.