Shirley Faye Maden

Shirley Faye Maden 1936-2026

Shirley Faye (Wiitanen) Maden, age 90, passed away peacefully on May 14th, 2026, under the loving care of Harbour View Assisted Living in Munising, Michigan.

Shirley was born April 11, 1936 in Duluth, Minnesota and moved shortly afterwards to the Upper Peninsula in Michigan. Shirley loved her Finnish roots and was an extremely proud Finn. She graduated from Eben High School in 1954.

She married Matthew Bell in 1955 and had her first son, Michael, later that year. In 1958 her second son David was born.

Shirley remarried in 1976 to Ronald Maden. Ron and Shirley moved several times for his work with GM and enjoyed living in Pennsylvania, Alabama and downstate Michigan. Through all those moves Shirley would return to the U.P. for the summers. She had a deep connection to the home she bought when she was only 20 years old. In 1990 after Ron’s retirement, they returned to that home and enjoyed spending time with friends and family. There was always an array of homemade baked goods, and a hot pot of coffee ready for all those who dropped in.

Shirley enjoyed cooking, especially baking. She had 100’s of cookbooks and poured over them daily. Her favorite items to bake were from her Finnish heritage, especially biscuit, and boy, was it good! In the summer she picked wild berries with her sisters and friends. Her jam was delicious. Shirley took years of Finnish language lessons and enjoyed her time in class with her fellow students.

Shirley was a true animal lover and adored all her dogs and cats over the years. She fed a multitude of birds year-round along with any other wildlife that wandered on her property.

She loved the U.P. and her close-knit community. She had lifelong friends and knew nearly everyone in the area. Shirley belonged to Sion Lutheran Church in Chatham, and loved her time spent with the women’s quilting group at the church.

Shirley is survived by her son, Michael (Karen) Bell, granddaughter Loni Burnett and great-grandson Collin Burnett. Also surviving are her siblings Nancy Ahlstrom, Ron (Hester) Wiitanen, Barbara (Bob) Chenail, sister-in-law Sally Morrison, along with nieces and nephews, Bobby, Daniel, Kristi, Susan, Andrea, Amy, Erik, Jason, Heidi, Michelle and Anna, plus many great nieces, nephews and god-children. She is also survived by her stepchildren, Brenda (Tim) Luoma, Diane (Mark) Malyj, Lynne (Kevin) Burke. and step-grandchildren Kevin, Bryan, Carrie, Karyn, Amy, Peter, Matthew, Roman, step-great grandson Wyatt and sister-in-law Barbara (Nick) Wagner.

Shirley was preceded in death by her parents Waino and Irene Wiitanen, son David Bell, husband Ronald Maden, sibling Robert Wiitanen, sister-in-law Jeanne Wiitanen, great- nephew Alex Moore, brother-in-law Jim Ahlstrom and Ron’s mother, Bertha Germain, and Ron's sister and her husband, Marjorie and Philip Keils.

Sadly, she was also predeceased by her adored, lifelong, best friends, Eleanor Brisson in 2025 and Vicki “Piika” Shega in 2020.

Services will be held at the Sion Lutheran Church in Chatham, Michigan on Saturday, May 30, 2026 at noon with Pastor Jeremy Ashley officiating. Visitation will begin at 11am. Interment will be immediately afterwards at Pine Grove Cemetery in Chatham. A gathering will then take place back at Sion Lutheran.

Floral tributes are encouraged or donations honoring Shirley can be made to Sion Lutheran Church or the “Rock River Township LIBRARY”, P.O. Box 195, Chatham, MI, 49816.