Shirley Petersen Wright-Litchfield passed away on October 7, 2013, at the Syverson Lutheran Home in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, from complications of a stroke. Her family was with her. She was born on August 30, 1921, on the family farm in Elwood, Utah, to David Conrad Petersen and Chloe Hortense (Nelsen) Petersen. As she told the story, only her mother and her doctor were present at her birth, because everyone else was in nearby Tremonton, Utah, celebrating the first paved streets in the area. She graduated from high school in San Francisco, California, and entered Utah State University in Logan, Utah. There she met John (Jack) McMaster Wright. They were married on October 26, 1941, in Winnemucca, Nevada, where Jack was working for the United Stated Department of Agriculture as an entomologist. Their first child, John David Wright, was born in Brigham City, Utah, on Shirley's birthday, August 30, 1942. Jack and Shirley moved to Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, where Jack was a PhD candidate in entomology. Their second child, Mary Grace Wright, was born on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1943, in Champaign. In August, 1957, the family moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where Jack joined the faculty of the University of Wisconsin. Jack died unexpectedly in 1961. In 1962, Shirley entered the University of Wisconsin and finished her bachelors and masters degrees in sociology. She then joined the faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and taught sociology until her retirement in 1986. She was a prolific painter, and had many friends in the Eau Claire artistic and academic community. In 1979, Shirley married Eau Claire businessman and former Army Air Corps B-17 pilot Donald D. Litchfield. They had a long and happy marriage, frequently traveling to Florida and taking trips to Washington, D.C., Montana, Hawaii, Norway, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Shirley was preceded in death by her parents, her sisters Dr. Mary Petersen Reeder and Deta Wilma Petersen Mower, and her first husband and their son John David Wright and nephew Ford Reeder (Diane). She is survived by her husband Donald D. Litchfield, daughter Mary Wright of Helena, Montana, daughter-in-law Virginia Linley Wright Franke (Otis) of Eau Claire, granddaughters Laura Michelle Wright of Brandon, SD, and Rebecca Lynn Wright Pope (Nicholas) of Chippewa Falls, great-granddaughter Jessica Haefner, two great-grandchildren Memphis Hafner and Nevaeh Kirkvold, of Brandon, SD, and nieces and nephews Shirley Annette Reeder Paulson (Larry) of Seattle, Washington, Kathryn Chloe Reeder Paulsen (Val) of Sandy, Utah, Cordell Reeder (Ruth) of Bernalillo, N.M., and Boyd Reeder (Rebecca) of Brigham City, Utah. The family thanks the staff of Syverson Lutheran Home and Mayo Clinic Hospice for their skillful and compassionate care of Shirley. In lieu of flowers, the family requests gifts to donors' favorite charities. Shirley gave generously to groups supporting animal welfare, hunger prevention, education, the arts and social justice. The family invites family and friends to attend the visitation and viewing on Sunday, October 13 from 5 to 7 p.m., and also from 12:30 to 1 p.m. on Monday, October 14 at Fuller-Speckien-Hulke Funeral Home, 3209 Rudolph Road, Eau Claire. Funeral services will take place at 1 p.m. on Monday, October 14, 2013 at the funeral home. Pastor Rolf Nestingen will officiate. Interment will take place in Brigham City, Utah at a later date.