Quita Verban Shier

Quita was born in Lincoln, IL on January 15, 1938.& Her Mother was half German and her Father was the son of Croatian immigrants. In the early 40's the Verban family moved to California where her father worked in the San Pedro shipyard as a master welder building Liberty Ships. Quita began her schooling in California. After the war, the family moved back to Lincoln where she completed her education through High School.

She graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University in 1960 with a degree in Zoology, and entered the University of Illinois in the fall of 1960 where she received her Masters Degree in Zoology. Her MS thesis was a study of the ecology and distribution of fresh water mussels in creeks in central Illinois. This was the first ecology thesis at the University of Illinois Zoology Department, and is a reference for continuing studies of the ecology of creeks in the area. She was a teaching assistant in the Zoology Dept. and she and her friend Willie Mae Campbell were the first interracial teaching team at the University of Illinois.

Quita loved football so she bought tickets for herself and a friend to attend the opening game of the U of I season. Two graduate students were seated directly in front of the two young women. Quita caught the attention of one of the graduate students. Dating began and a relationship developed which resulted in the marriage of Quita and George on January 28, 1962, in Lincoln. The relationship lasted 61 years.

The Shier family expanded on November 23, 1963, when George Steven Shier was born. After George graduated in 1964 the family moved to Midland, Michigan, where George began work at Dow Chemical Co. The family grew again when Andrew David Shier was born on Quita's 5th Wedding Anniversary amidst the great blizzard of 1967. Anita Dawn Shier Helmus arrived on June 3rd 1970.

Quita's life-long interest was in Native Americans and their culture. This interest led to many friendships. She organized craft sales for her friends who created Native American jewelry, baskets, and pottery. Quita educated herself on Michigan Native American history and would travel the State giving talks to school classes and groups. She taught a course on the Native Americans of Michigan at Delta College in which she invited her Native Americans friends to participate.

Quita became interested in Company K of the First Michigan Sharpshooters Regiment which fought in the American Civil War. Company K was the only company in the Regiment which had only indigenous men on its roster. This led to over 26 years of research, many trips to the National Archives, interviews with descendants of the Native American soldiers and finally writing the book based on her research entitled, Warriors In Mr. Lincoln's Army.

Quita and some of her friends had a shared interest in genealogy, and referred to themselves as the "bones ladies". They made trips to Salt Lake City to research the genealogical collections of the LDS church and traveled to research the records in county courthouses. She did extensive research on the Shier, Verban, and Adams (Quita's Grandmother) families. Quita discovered that she had an ancestor who fought in the Civil War. This discovery led to her participation in the Daughters of the Union, in which she held several offices.

Quita and George are long term members of The United Church of Christ where Quita sang in the choir for 30 years and was elected Moderator. They believe that end of life care should be compassionate, offer as much comfort as possible, and be responsive to the wishes of the person and their family. To that end, Quita and George were involved in the founding of the Tony and Trish house in Auburn and were volunteers there.

Besides football she enjoyed many sports and was a natural athlete. When soccer came to Midland, she became a board member of the Midland Soccer Club and was in charge of purchasing. One fine fall afternoon in the early days of soccer she managed, from the Shier home, the distribution of 1200 jerseys and associated team bags. She and her friend Nancy Hoyer organized the first adult women's soccer league in Midland. Quita played the position of goalie. She broke her arm diving for a ball, but came back the next year to be goalie on the City Champion in the Women's League. She was active in coaching, particularly the goalie position.

In the early days, she loved traveling with George and her family on camping and exploratory trips across the county. Her sister, Chiqeeta Verban Jameson, 18 years her junior, would many times travel with the family as the built-in babysitter. They visited most of the states in the lower 48 and liked the Desert South West, particularly New Mexico. Santa Fe was a favorite place to visit. They also enjoyed trips to England where George's cousin was a local guide to many interesting places. Quita is a descendant of Daniel Boone's brother, Sam Boone, and she found the village church in England where the Boone's were baptized before coming to America.

Quita leaves her husband, George David Shier, her children, George Steven Shier (Kris), Andrew David Shier (Nicki), Anita Dawn Helmus (Brian), 7 grandchildren, sister Chiqeeta Jameson (Craig), and many friends and relatives to cherish their memories of her.

There will be a celebration of Quita's life held at 11:00 am on Friday, October 13, 2023 at the United Church of Christ, 4100 Chestnut Hill Dr. Midland, MI 48642 with a luncheon to follow. Visitation will be at the church on Friday from 10:00 am until the time of service. Arrangements are under the care of Wilson MILLER Funeral Home.

Charitable donations in her memory can be sent to the United Church of Christ, 4100 Chestnut Hill Dr., Midland, MI, 48642, the Toni and Trish House, 4699 11 Mile Rd, Auburn, MI, 48611, or to a charity of the donor's choice.

Donations may be made to:

United Church of Christ
4100 Chestnut Hill Dr, Midland MI 48642

Toni & Trish House
PO Box 125, Auburn MI 48611
Web: http://www.toniandtrishhouse.org

Organization of One's Choice

To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Quita Verban Shier, please visit our flower store.