Shirley Brickman, 95, of Dedham, passed away on Monday, August 4, 2025, at St. Anthony Regional Hospital in Carroll. Funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. on Monday, August 18, 2025, at the Sharp Funeral Home in Carroll with visitation starting after 12:30 p.m. Burial will be in the Mount Calvary Cemetery in Cherokee.
Funeral arrangements are under the guidance of the Sharp Funeral Home in Carroll and online condolences may be left for Shirley’s family at www.sharpfuneral.com.
Shirley Ann (Schmillen) Brickman was born on August 26, 1929, on a farm near Cleghorn, Iowa, the youngest of eight children born to Thomas and Alice (Ryan) Schmillen. Raised during the Great Depression, Shirley’s early life was marked by hardship, resilience, and a strong family bond. She grew up helping on the family farm and took on many responsibilities from a young age.
Shirley attended Immaculate Conception School in Cherokee and graduated high school in 1947. She married the love of her life, Fred Brickman, on November 8, 1948. Together they raised five sons and one daughter: Mike, Mark, Tony, Greg, Tim, and Jean. A dedicated mother, Shirley raised her children with compassion and firmness, managing the household during long periods when Fred traveled for work.
The family lived in Cherokee, Iowa, before relocating to Carroll in 1964. Shirley served as the head children’s librarian at the Carroll Public Library until September 1974, when she and her husband relocated to Lakewood, Colorado to fulfill their dream of living near the mountains. Shirley enjoyed her new career in Denver as the executive secretary to the head geophysicist for the western division of Exxon Petroleum. She retired in 1990 and enjoyed traveling with Fred until his passing in 1999.
Despite her love of the mountains, her heart always remained in Iowa, where she returned in 2021 to be closer to some of her children. Shirley will be remembered as a loving wife and a dedicated mother with unwavering faith. Her children and their families kept Shirley busy praying the rosary and reading her entire prayer book daily, mostly for their benefit.
Survivors include her children: Mike Brickman of Dedham; Tony (Vanessa) Brickman of Maumelle, AR; Tim (Sandy Armstrong) Brickman of Roseville, MN; and Jean (Mike) Seidl of Dedham; 11 grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren with another one on the way; 11 great-great-grandchildren; special cousins Connie Anderson and Fr. Jay Harrington; and many nieces, nephews and friends.
She was preceded in death by her husband Fred; two sons Mark and Greg Brickman; a daughter-in-law Lanie Brickman; her parents and parents-in-law; her siblings and their spouses: Francis “Bud” Schmillen; Marie and Emil Anderson; Bernice and Art Blaker; Arlyce and Eddie Wiemold; Bill and Bibs Schmillen; Bob and Mildred Schmillen; and John and Ada Schmillen; and other in-laws: Verna and Burdette Sindt; Lloyd and Martha Brickman; and Bob and Clementine Brickman.
