Shirley Cyr
Shirley Ann (Turgeon) Cyr died peacefully at her home in Oklee on Monday, February 2nd at the age of 94.
She was born on the family farm in Brooks on January 14th, 1932 to Walter and Alexine (Bergeron) Turgeon. She attended school in Oklee until her Freshman year when she enrolled at St. Joe’s in Crookston, graduating as the valedictorian of the class in 1950. Her children jokingly referred to St. Joe’s as the “reform school”, but along with her upbringing, it helped to cultivate a deep faith in God and a love for the Catholic Church which she passed on to her children. After graduation she worked in Minneapolis and Chicago before returning to Oklee in 1953. On August 4, 1953 she married Harold Cyr at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church and they celebrated 68 years of marriage before Harold passed away in September 2021.
Shirley was a stay-at-home mom for much of the first years of her marriage and it was during that time that she honed her baking (especially homemade bread) and cooking skills. Many of the things that she loved to make came from the Betty Crocker cookbook that she purchased from the Drug Store in Crookston, while going to the doctor, for $7.50 ($88.35 in today’s dollars) after much consultation with Harold. The streusel coffee cake that came from that cookbook remained a favorite of her children that they still make today. As long as she was able to cook, that cookbook remained a staple and reference for her.
In 1962 Shirley and Harold built a house on the north side of Oklee where they lived the remainder of their lives. Harold was working out at the time and the carpenter had a real taste for liquor, so Shirley added being a contractor in addition to her other duties.
Oklee celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 1960. After that celebration Shirley told her children that at the anniversaries to come she could sit back and enjoy; however, unbeknownst to Shirley she would be the mayor and deeply involved in the planning and everything that goes with it at the 75th Diamond Jubilee in 1985. Her prediction did come true in 2010 at the Centennial celebration as she was not responsible for anything except having a good time and accumulating recipes for the Centennial Cookbook.
As the years passed by, Shirley balanced raising her family with a number of jobs: working at the Oklee Post Office, being the City Assessor, and beginning in 1970 running Cyr Hardware with Harold. As was noted in Harold’s obituary, Shirley was virtually the sole proprietor of the store during the months of October and November, during the duck season. After a fire in 1997 both Shirley and Harold retired from full time work.
In addition to her time as mayor, she was involved in many civic, Church, and social activities, including: Community Club, Thief River Falls Tech College Board, Jubilee Cookbook, Foster Grandparent, hospice volunteer, knitting, Quilting Club, and St. Francis Xavier Theresa Circle.
Shirley loved to entertain and welcomed everyone in her home. She hosted many international visitors from French students to Norwegian Setesdal Lag attendees. She loved to travel, whether across the US and Canada on motorcycle trips with Harold or internationally with her daughters.
Shirley is survived by sons Paul of Oklee, Stephen (Susan) of Rochester, Joe (Karen) of Fertile, John (Trisha) of Fargo, and daughters Mary (David) Allton of Wayzata and Catherine of Perham; grandchildren Bradley (Audrey), Peter (Lindsey), Thomas (Madie), Cy, and Victor Cyr, Joe Lorenson, Maria (Luke) Stull and Lily (Rian Solberg) Lorenson; great-grandchildren Colin, Owen, Maggie, Maven, Leona, and Florence Cyr, and Mathias Stull; brothers Francis, and William (Kathy) Turgeon, and sister Alyce Turgeon, sisters-in-law Delores, and Diane Turgeon. She was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers, James and Jerome Turgeon, and sister-in-law Bonnie Turgeon.
Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 AM on Saturday, February 7, 2026 at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Oklee, MN with Father Bryan Kujawa presiding. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service. Burial will be held at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Cemetery, rural Oklee, MN.
