Nancy Shetka

Nancy Jean Shetka, age 90, passed away Tuesday, October 20, 2026, at her home in Fifty Lakes, MN. She was born Jan 16, 1936, in Pequot Lakes, MN to Raymond and Elaine Cline. 

Nancy lived most of her early life in Mankato, MN but when she was about to start her last year of high school her family moved to St. Paul, MN and she finished high school as a senior at Monroe High School. Here she met Joann Anderson who became her lifelong best friend and who coincidentally introduced her to our dad, Ed Shetka. Joann was dating Ed’s brother Ron and soon, Joann and Ron and Ed and Nancy were related by marriage. Nancy married Edward T. Shetka Jr. on September 18, 1954, and remained a loving wife for 64 years until he passed in 2018. They began their married life in St. Paul and raised 5 children (4 girls and one boy) in a small house that was filled with noisy love and laughter. She taught us silly songs and told funny stories, and we adopted the music that she loved. She was the classic Kool-Aid mom who was adored by her children and the neighborhood kids as well. She organized the backyard carnivals, hosted the Halloween parties, and helped with the lemonade stands. We all knew how much she loved us and our dad and her calm, kindness, and patience were a necessary counterpart to the busy and loud bustle around her. 

In 1974 they moved the family to Fifty Lakes, MN where they built a house on West Fox Lake and where my mom, at 41, finally got her driver’s license. She was involved in many community activities and made many friends. She was a valued member of the Immaculate Heart Church Choir, Fifty Lakes Helping Hand, and Sportsmen's Club, and that license came in handy because she was soon driving her youngest (Theresa and Jennifer) to their countless activities and taking their friends along with them. She was everyone’s second mom because she made them feel important and a part of the family. 

She was perfect. She was the perfect mother-in-law, the perfect wife, and the “perfect” grandmother. She always had time for the grandchildren. In their early years she taught them to play Monopoly, poker, and countless other card games. She encouraged them to put on plays to entertain Grandma and Grandpa, and some of them even made lists of things to do at Grandma’s house so they could fit it all in. She did not disappoint! When they got older, Mom and Dad never missed a game, a play, or a school concert. She remained a part of their lives and she continued to be important to them. 

She lived the life that was important to her and her family knew that “family” was her priority. She took care of her kids, her grandkids, her loving husband, and her own mother, Elaine, and her Auntie Lee and Uncle Homer in their older years. She lived a life worth living and her family is richer for it. She is survived by her children, Lorie Johnson (Randy), Edward Shetka III (Barb), Kathleen Murrer (Ted), Theresa Fox (Rick), and Jennifer Schroeder (Bill), 10 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren, and 4 great-great-grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her husband, Edward, her siblings, William Cline, Carol Hopkins, and Mary McGuire, her parents, Ray and Elaine Cline, and several cherished grandparents, cousins, and aunts and uncles.

Mass of Christian burial will take place at 11 AM on Thursday, October 29, 2026, at Immaculate Heart Catholic Church in Crosslake. A visitation will be held the hour prior.