Shirley Madsen Obituary

Madsen, Shirley
KELLER, Texas - Shirley Ann (Lee) Madsen died peacefully on February 5, 2024, at Faith Presbyterian Hospice Center in Dallas, Texas. She was predeceased by her parents, beloved brothers, William Lee, Thomas Lee and Paul Lee and son, Stephen Madsen. She is survived by daughter, Donna and Charles Ratigan; grandchildren, Heather, Jason, Erin, Stephanie, Nicole, Kimberley, Michelle, Shelby and Stephen, 16 great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
Shirley was born in Troy, N.Y, the city she loved, and the friends she made there. Friends she reconnected with later in life for singing, cards, dominoes, taking trips and enjoying a laugh.
Besides raising a family in Wynantskill, she provided childcare for 27 children over the years. Taking the kids hiking in the woods behind Simmons Rd., long walks to the mall in Troy, raiding the farmer's field for corn stalks in the fall, making "fishing poles" to fish in Indian Creek –– she loved them all.
She enjoyed her spiritual homes and took part in teaching and classes at Jermain Memorial in Watervliet and United Church of Cohoes.
She loved hiking: taking on the Georgia section of the Appalachian Trail in her 50's, climbing most of the peaks in the Catskills and Adirondacks, Vermont and Mt Katahdin in Maine with her hiking group from Watervliet. She adored her flowers and birds and filled her yard with blooms, bird houses and feeders and was the one to call when you found an injured bird. She will be missed.