Shirley Oberheide Obituary

Shirley Nan (Hargiss) Oberheide, 90, of Carmel, Indiana passed away on February 21, 2017. Shirley was born in 1926 in Emporia, Kansas, and grew up in Lawrence and Topeka. Shirley attended University of Kansas (KU) and Northwestern University, attaining a master degree in music education. She became Miss Kansas in 1949, and was one of 10 finalists in the Miss America pageant. Following her reign as Miss Kansas, she had a two-year career as a nightclub singer in New York City. She was a regular performer for The Jack Eigen Show, a radio talk show broadcast with live interviews of celebrity guests. In 1952, she came back to the Midwest to marry George W. Oberheide of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, a Northwestern classmate. While raising four children, Shirley was a TV Singer/Hostess for the Snooky Lanson Show in Shreveport, Louisiana, and taught music / special ed. in Arizona, Missouri, and California. In retirement Shirley loved traveling and competed in cat shows for over 25 years. She was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma, Mu Phi Epsilon, Pi Kappa Lambda, and MENSA.

She was the daughter of H.W. "Bill" and Vera A. (Strickler) Hargiss. Her father was a coach at Emporia State University and KU, and a charter member of the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame. Her sister, Dr. Genevieve Hargiss, was a Professor Emeritus at KU and a member of the Kansas Teachers Hall of Fame.

She is preceded in death by her husband; her sister; and brothers, Woodson S. and W. Clarke. She is survived by her children, Ken Oberheide, of Arizona; Clarke Oberheide, of Michigan; Marc Oberheide, of Indiana; Heide Geary, of New Jersey; six grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Memorial service will be in Emporia, Kansas at a later date.

Final care and arrangements entrusted to Shirley Brothers Fishers-Castleton Chapel, 9900 Allisonville Rd., Fishers, IN 46038. www.shirleybrothers.com