Shirley Fossum - Obituary

hirley Mae Fossum, 83, a 2-year resident of Edgewater, died on Sunday, January 9, 2011, at Mandrin Chesapeake Hospice House in Harwood. Shirley was born on February 2, 1927 in Milwaukee, WI to the late Marvin and Eugenia Carmichael. She attended high school in Milwaukee and completed nursing studies in Garden Grove, CA. Shirley worked as a counselor for an addiction program in Chaska, MN then worked at Anne Arundel Medical Center as a medical coder until her retirement. After retirement, Shirley returned to work as a medical coder for an addiction counselor until she was 79. Among her many accomplishments, Shirley learned how to tap dance as a child and she would stage musical shows with her sister, Jeanne. She was a roller skater as a teenager and took up tap dancing again as an adult. Later, while living in Hawaii, she learned how to hula and also taught hula. She also enjoyed knitting, crocheting, traveling and playing bingo with residents at Victoria Park. She was predeceased by her daughter, Jeannie Martin. She is survived by a son, David Fossum of Norco, CA; a sister, Jeanne Hartge of Galesville, MD and a granddaughter, Kim Halladay of Westminster, CA. Friends are invited to Shirley’s Life Celebration at the GEORGE P. KALAS FUNERAL HOME, 2973 Solomons Island Rd., Edgewater, MD on Wednesday, January 12 from 1:15pm until funeral service begins at 2:00pm. Interment Woodfield Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Mandrin Chesapeake Hospice House, 3675 Solomons Island Road, Harwood, MD 20776.