Celebrating the Life of Nita Shull
92 Years of Spirit, Love, and Beautiful Memories
We are writing to share that our beloved mother, Nita Shull, passed away on October 25, 2025, after a short battle with pancreatic cancer. Mom was 92 years old; she was the heartbeat of our family and a friend to so many. We were both with Mom the last 6 weeks of her life, and our time together was filled with sadness and pain, but also with laughter, love and memories.
While we are deeply saddened by her loss, we find comfort in knowing she lived a beautiful, long life. She was a daughter, a teacher, a mom, a nanna and a friend.
Nita was born in Sac City, IA to parents Irene and Roy Olson. She welcomed into the world her two younger brothers Leroy and Gene. The Olsons lived and worked on a dairy farm/ hogs / acreage planted with corn and soybeans, apple trees and a vegetable garden. Nita remembers her mom driving the milk cans to the Sac City Creamery on the way to dropping the three children at school. Nita married Tom Shull, and later her brother Gene Olson married Jane Shull. Mary and Arlo Shull lived in town and had 11 daughters and sons. The combined Olson/Shull family made for rollicking good times at holidays!
Nita loved people and especially enjoyed conversing with young people. Whether they were friends of Lisa and Erin, her current and former students, her nieces and nephews, or her cherished granddaughter, Nita connected with each one. In her later years, Nita had a Facebook account and an ipad that thrilled her, she could stay connected from the Ozarks and share pictures. Former students from Nemaha and Auburn found her and she felt such joy reconnecting with them. She delighted in listening to the same radio station Lisa was listening to in San Francisco and sharing the world stories over the phone.
During our last weeks together, we shared many stories and memories. A few of the most heartfelt reflections she shared included:
Her early years and passion for sewing: She recalled spending countless hours throughout the years with Grandma Olson, pouring over fabrics and patterns. She kept many of these treasured items of clothing that Grandma had created.
Her college years: We were astonished to hear that during her days at Iowa State Teachers' College (now UNI), she would ship her dirty laundry back home to the farm. Her mother would lovingly return the package filled with fresh, clean clothes and a batch of homemade cookies or cake. After completing her two years there, she joyfully joined Tom at the University of Iowa, where she was absolutely thrilled to take classes purely for the enjoyment of learning.
Her Iowa teaching days: She fondly remembered teaching fourth, fifth and sixth grade English and Social Studies in Auburn, Iowa. During lunch breaks and recesses, she would sneak away with her female fifth grade students to lie on the library floor, eagerly reading Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret together. She also took a round braided rug to her homeroom to create a cozy space for the students, and she would play her guitar and sing whenever she could.
Casino Beach days: Out of a small cobbler’s shack with a tree growing through the roof, Tom and Nita remodeled and made a beloved cozy cabin on Storm Lake’s Casino Beach. We built a beautiful circle of chosen family with wonderful neighbors at the lake and Nita was able to spend her summers with her girls at this small, rustic paradise. Buena Vista College was in town, so she was able to renew her teaching certificate, write poetry and spend the sunny days in a lounge chair on the dock and the rainy days at the Storm Lake Public Library or playing cards on Grandma Fern’s front porch. As Aunt Mary would always say “What happens at the cabin, stays at the cabin!”
Her Ozark days: Nita was a lifelong avid reader and shared that love with many. In her later years in the Ozarks, she volunteered at the Kimberling City Library and made a group of librarian friends, who often met outside of work for lunch. She cherished those friendships and the sharing of love of literature, old and new. Nita had beautiful cursive penmanship and would copy music lyrics, make long lists of her favorite music and write long letters. She kept colorful lined notebooks all over her house, so she could write her thoughts of the moment. She also loved food, especially ice cream and allowed herself to totally enjoy every bite.
Traveling days: Nita was able to attend and graduate college in Cedar Falls and later in Iowa City. She traveled with 4-H to Chicago and later Nita and Tom traveled to Chicago to see the musical “Hair” and to a trade show in Las Vegas, where a taxi driver was amazed that Nita traveled to shopping areas on her own. She bought a metal statue and a shirt and belt that she wore for years after. The Farm Crisis of the 1980’s affected Nita and Tom’s Ford Dealership business and they found themselves leaving Iowa and moving to the Table Rock Lake area in Arkansas and Missouri, where they eventually settled on the MO side of Table Rock Lake. Nita enjoyed exploring Eureka Springs and Fayetteville, AR and Branson, MO.
She loved visiting her daughters in Napa, CA which took her to Napa Valley and Sonoma County wine country, San Francisco, Santa Cruz and Capitola, Monterey and Carmel, Big Sur, the redwoods in Guerneville, CA, the Pacific Ocean, Lake Tahoe and a cabin high in the Sierra Nevada. Later she traveled to New Zealand where she and Erin traveled throughout both the North and South Islands. She cherished a trip with Erin to New York City, where they attended 3 Broadway shows and climbed many subway stairs!
Mom remained sharp and spirited until the very end. We were deeply honored to be at her side 24/7 in her beloved Ozark home for six weeks during hospice. Her granddaughter, Jasperina, flew from college in Boston to spend a weekend with her, share her musical compositions, play the guitar and sing to her. Mom brought us into this world, and we were privileged to be right by her side through the journey of the end of her life on this beautiful earth.
Lisa and Erin wish you all love, laughter, happiness, health, healing, more laughter and loads of ice cream!
Nita is preceded in death by her parents Irene and Roy Olson, brothers Le Roy and Gene Olson, husband Thomas Shull.
Left to cherish her memory include her two daughters Lisa and Erin. Lisa (Shull) and Marcel van Stuijvenberg of Napa, CA, Erin Shull and Alan Pattie of Kerikeri, New Zealand, granddaughter: Jasperina van Stuijvenberg of Boston, MA and soon to be of Los Angeles, CA.
Sac City family: Jeannette (Olson) Strain of Sac City, Don and Mary Shull, Jane (Shull) Olson, Dennis and Luana Shull, Douglas K. Shull, Michael Shull and many nieces and nephews and their children and grandchildren.
Storm Lake family: Mary Rohlk of Ida Grove, IA, William Klumper of Elkhorn, NE, Annette (Klumper) Dorheim of Fort Worth TX, Tom Klumper of San Juan, PR.
