Shirley Kathleen Soderstrom

Shirley Kathleen (Hoard) Soderstrom, age 79 of Lauderdale, Minnesota, died June 21, 2026 of ovarian cancer.

She was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Wallace L. and Elizabeth A. (VanZomeren) Hoard. Shirley grew up in Golden Valley, and as a child, she would walk to Medicine Lake to swim and play. As a young adult, she attended the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in sociology in 1968. She and Ric met in the University band room and played cards. They fell in love and eloped in Silver Bay, Minnesota on their independence day, July 4, 1969. She started her career at Burlington Northern Railroad as a COBOL programmer. After the birth of her second son, she temporarily retired to care for her family for many years. Eventually she returned to work at Lauderdale City Hall, Dayton's, and the Federal Reserve Bank. She made many friends at the bank and enjoyed working on the complicated savings bond cases.

Shirley was part of many different communities, and found her spiritual home at St. Michael's Lutheran Church in Roseville. She often met with the women's circle, bandage rolling group, and quilting group and enjoyed their company. But Shirley really loved music, and she helped the church start a handbell choir and played with them for 20 years. Before her passing, she noted that she was very grateful for the support of her musical friends over the years and especially at the end of her life.

As a true Girl Scout, Shirley led daughter Christina's troop 1244 for 12 years. With several wonderful co-leaders, she had many adventures with the girls including canoeing in the Boundary Waters and down the St. Croix river, lots of fundraising and selling cookies, and finally a big trip to California. There was always laughter and singing, and sometimes banging pots and pans to scare away bears.

Shirley loved roadtripping and camping. She was so happy to leave work behind and take time to please herself and her family. In the car, her family could go anyplace they wanted, as far as they wanted. Camping gave her an enormous feeling of freedom. She loved the smell of fresh air in the campgrounds. The family camped extensively in Minnesota, visiting most of the state parks over the years and traveling around Lake Superior twice. She also camped all across the United States and Canada, including places like Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park, Alaska, Hawaii, and Prince Edward Island.

When she retired, Shirley had more time for her artistic pursuits. She enjoyed painting, especially watercolor, and often experimented with different techniques and styles. Some of her watercolors were inspired by puzzles, which she also enjoyed. She loved stenciling and tie dye with her grandkids. As a young mother, she had made wonderful clothing for her kids, then as a grandmother, she made many beautiful and functional bags, some of them with wonderful patchworks of denim. She was always trying new things and learning from YouTube and books.

She always stayed active, taking part in many Saint Anthony Park Seniors events like exercise classes, luncheons, evenings in Lauderdale Park, and free concerts and plays. Most weeks she participated in Silver Sneakers at the Roseville Community Center, and she especially loved open swim time. In the summertime, she loved swimming in Lake Johanna. Her connections extended beyond the immediate community, and she was proud to support the Eric Hayes Memorial at the Minnesota Zoo.

In her quiet time, Shirley loved reading British mysteries. Some of her favorites included cats who helped solve the crimes. And of course, she was such an Anglophile. She loved British sitcoms and even followed the exploits of the royal family. When Anne moved to England and married Chris, she took many trips with Ric and sometimes some of her other kids to visit. She especially loved visiting the Beamish Living Museum of the North and spending time with her kids at different water amusement parks.

In her later years, continued to develop her baking skills. Almost every week she made fresh bread. When someone's birthday rolled around, she always made her famous "tar pie" - a rich chocolate pie in a graham cracker crust topped with whipped cream. Her kids also remember how she would make treats like home-made cinnamon rolls, lemon bars, and O'Henry bars.

Shirley was preceded in death by her parents, her siblings (Terrance, Evelyn, Marquis, William, Allison, and Thor). She is survived by her husband Ric, and children Eric Jr., Tyler (Christine), Christina (divorced, Charles), Anne (Christopher), and grandchildren Holden, Miriya, Elise, D, Winston, Leo, Eric, and siblings Allyn, Kevin (Melodee), Melanie, and Dean.

Shirley's celebration of life will be Saturday, August 1, 2026 at St. Michael's Lutheran Church (1660 County Road B W, Roseville, MN 55113) and will include a visitation from 10:00-11:00 a.m., a memorial service at 11:00 a.m., and a luncheon immediately after. In lieu of flowers, memorials preferred to St. Michael's Lutheran Church or Girl Scout River Valleys.