Obituaries : Shirley Ann (Light) Schmuecker

Shirley Ann Schmuecker, 87, passed away on Tuesday, February 21, 2023, in Mountain Home, Arkansas. Ann was born on April 2, 1935, in Newhall, Iowa, to Robert and Anna Becker Light. She graduated from Newhall, Iowa High School and went on to work her way through college, earning a teaching degree from the University of Iowa. She married Tom Schmuecker in 1959 in Iowa. She started her teaching career in California, and taught for 20 years after moving back to Iowa. In 1973, she and Tom bought Wapsi Fly and moved to Independence, Iowa, from the farm in Amana, Iowa. Tom and Ann moved the company and the family to Arkansas in 1978, where Ann was instrumental in laying the foundation for Wapsi Fly's success. Ann's greatest passion was education and she enjoyed politics. She was a past president of the Women's Republican Party and the Damsel Women's Fly Fishing Club.

Ann is survived by her husband, Tom Schmuecker; four sons, Karl Schmuecker, Joe Schmuecker, John Schmuecker, and Eric Schmuecker; five grandchildren, Emily, E.J., Claire, Zak, and Isabelle; great-grandson, Sebastian; sister-in-law, Dorothy Light; and brother-in-law, Larry Nolan.

She is preceded in death by her parents; two brothers, John Light and Ernie Light; and four sisters, Florence Light, Cordy Schiefer, Roberta Schulte, and Susan Nolan.

Visitation will be Sunday, February 26, 2023, from 2:00 pm until 6:00 pm, at Kirby & Family Funeral Home. A Funeral Service will be held on Monday, February 27, 2023, at 11:00 am at Kirby & Family Funeral Home Chapel, with Pastor David Payne officiating. Burial will be in Kirby's Tucker Memorial Cemetery, in Mountain Home, Arkansas, with Bill Barrow, Roger Gavach, T.L. Lauerman, Pat Neuner, Jerry McDonald, and Mike Benton as pallbearers.

Memorial donations may be made in Ann's name to Hospice of the Ozarks Hospice House, 701 Burnett Drive, Mountain Home, AR 72653, www.hospiceoftheozarks.org.

Arrangements are by Kirby & Family Funeral & Cremation Services - Mountain Home, Arkansas.