Thelma Shockey

Thelma I. Shockey, age 99, of Venice, Florida, died Wednesday, March 16, 2022. Thelma was born in Tippecanoe County, near Battle Ground, on March 4th, 1923, the daughter of Frank Peterson and Margaret Brettnacher Peterson. She graduated from St Francis High School in 1941. She was married to Donald E. Shockey in St. Boniface Catholic Church in Lafayette on April 11, 1942, and he preceded her in death on April 21, 1999. Thelma lived in Lafayette until 1966 when her husband was transferred from the Lafayette Journal and Courier to the Lansing State Journal in Lansing, Michigan. When her husband retired in 1979 they moved to Englewood, Florida. Thelma was a homemaker, and the co-author with her husband of a two volume set of family history, "The Shockey Chronicles" which they worked on together for over forty years. She also was the author of a book about her own family and childhood called "Yesterday When I Was Young." She was a member and past president of the Lamba Tau Delta sorority. Thelma loved to travel, and with her husband travelled through Europe several times, and they spent many vacations looking for information for their book in cemeteries and libraries throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Tennessee, meeting many new friends and relatives along the way. Surviving are two daughters, Carole Hart of Celina, TX., and Christine Wrzesinski of Lansing, MI., and two sons, Donald P. Shockey (wife Lou Ellen) of Amissville, VA, and Michael Shockey of Venice, FL. She was preceded in death by her parents, a daughter, Sara Ann, two brothers, Francis Peterson and Paul Peterson, and one sister, Sister M. Paula, OFM. Also surviving are 11 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Lafayette on Wednesday April 6, Fr. Matthew Kalu officiating, with interment to follow in St. Boniface Cemetery. Immediately following the interment service, family and friends are invited to a luncheon in St. Lawrence social hall. Hahn-Groeber Funeral Home of Lafayette is honored to serve the Shockey family. Please leave memories and condolences at www.hahngroeberfuneralhome.com