Louise Shellabarger

Louise Shellabarger, 88, of Rockford, Ohio, died at 7:57 a.m., Saturday, January 26, 2013, at the Van Wert In-patient Hospice Center where she had been a patient for the past week. She was born Rose Louise Rowland on November 9, 1924, in Rockford, Ohio, to Harry & Rosa Bell (Gause) Rowland. On November 9, 1945, she married Stan Shellabarger, who preceded her in death on September 5, 2012. She was a homemaker and lived in Rockford her entire life; she had also worked at Sleppy's 5 & Dime in Rockford. She was a member of the former Rockford Presbyterian Church, where she was a member of the Women's Association; since then, she had been attending the New Horizons Community Church in Rockford. She had also been a member of the Eastern Star in Rockford. Surviving are four sons: Rodney (Dorene) Shellabarger, Van Wert, Ohio; Craig (Barb) Shellabarger, Celina, Ohio; Randy (Colleen) Shellabarger, Rockford, Ohio; and Mike (Angie) Shellabarger, of Middlepoint, Ohio. Fourteen grandchildren and six great grandchildren also survive, along with two sisters-in-law: Gertrude Rowland of Van Wert, Ohio and Norma Rowland of Willshire, Ohio. Deceased are two brothers: Carl (Bud) and John Rowland and four sisters: Marie Lehman, Pauline Snyder, Martha Taylor, and Betty Reish. Services will be held at 10:00 am on Thursday, January 31, 2013, at Ketcham-Ripley Funeral Home in Rockford, with Pastor Marvin Schwartz officiating. Burial will be in Riverside Cemetery, Rockford. Friends may call on Wednesday at the funeral home from 4:00-8:00 pm, and on Thursday, one hour prior to the service. Memorials may be directed to New Horizons Church, Rockford or to the Van Wert In-Patient Hospice Center, Van Wert, Ohio.