The funeral for Fern Shea will be at 11:00 am Saturday, February 10, 2018 at Bethel Lutheran Church, Rochester with Pastor Norman Wahl officiating.  Burial will be in Grandview Memorial Gardens. Visitation will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 pm on Friday, February 9, 2018 at River Park Chapel, Macken Funeral Home, Rochester, MN and one hour prior to the service on Saturday at Bethel.

Fern, 88, a lifelong Rochester resident, died Wednesday, February 7, 2018 surrounded by her four children.

Fern was born July 5, 1929 in Mazeppa, MN to Herman and Maude Folkert. She graduated from Rochester High School in 1947.  On December 22, 1952 she married John W. Shea in Rochester.  John was a retired Rochester Public Schools operating engineer.  John passed away February 21, 1993. Fern had a 30 year career as a medical coding clerk in Statistics at Mayo Clinic, retiring in 1985.  A lifelong member of Bethel, she enjoyed volunteering in various activities.  She enjoyed camping, gardening, needlework, but most important was spending time with family.

Survivors are her children, Lynn (David) Myhre, Bill (Gladys) Shea, Diane (David) Smidt, and Sandy (Joe) Roth; eleven grandchildren; three step-grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren and 7 step-great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in her death by her husband, John; her sister, Donna Bandel; brother, Stan Folkert; and grandson, Nicholas Roth.

Memorials are preferred to Bethel Lutheran Church or American Heart Association.