Anderson Funeral Home
Homeserving families for over 70 years
312 South Stone St.
Augusta, WI 54722
715-286-2222
Cora Marie Shafer
Cora Marie Shafer passed away peacefully surrounded by her family. She went to her heavenly home on Thursday, July 2, 2026, having attained the age of 93 years.
Cora Marie was born on March 22, 1933, to Charles Nicholas and Esther (Mickelson) Shong. She was raised in Augusta with her seven siblings. She graduated from Augusta High School in 1952. She trained to be a nurse, but she soon realized that wasn’t for her as she nearly passed out from the sight of blood. She became a telephone operator with AT&T in 1955 and was soon promoted to management after only three years. She retired after 39 years of service.
She married William (Bill) Shafer on August 20, 1955. With that union she had two sons, Scott and Brian. The couple later divorced.
Cora Marie’s life was led by a deep faith in Jesus. During her career with AT&T, she moved with her two sons to different places in Wisconsin. She always found a church home which was vital for her to maintain a work/life balance for her sons.
Throughout her life, she brought many people to find a deeper faith in the Lord. She had a gentle way of speaking of her faith, but it was spoken with a genuine belief. She led many bible studies in her home wherever she lived. Through the years, she served on many different church boards.
She was an active member of Faith Evangelical Free Church. She also was active with the Telephone Company Pioneers, Fall Creek American Legion Auxiliary, Beaver Creek Reserve, Fall Creek Historical Society, Chippewa Valley Museum, and the Fall Creek Library.
She had an adventurous spirit. In her early years, she always took a family trip with her sons. After retirement, she traveled to many places in Europe. One of her favorite trips was to the area of Alsace-Lorraine, France where she met living relatives. She traveled to Israel in 2010 and was re-baptized in the Jordan River where Jesus was baptized. She also loved going on cruises to the Caribbean Islands and Alaska.
Family was important to her, and she stayed close to her siblings throughout her life. This meant large gatherings of grandparents, aunts, uncles & cousins for Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, family reunions, campouts, and any other reason to get together. She also remained close to her husband Bill’s family which meant even more family gatherings.
She had many deep friendships throughout her life. She loved going to lunch and would make everyone feel special for having known her. Even as her health started failing, she was always pleasant and kind to all who took care of her.
She will be dearly missed by her two sons; Scott (Kathy) of Clearwater, Minnesota, and Brian (Virginia) of Duncanville, Texas. She is survived by her brothers Wally Shong of Mars Hill, North Carolina, Dave & Elaine Shong and Donny & Judy Shong of Augusta and John Shong of Fairchild, Wisconsin. She is also survived by sister-in-laws Deanna Shafer and Peggy Anderson of Eau Claire, Wisconsin and Annette Shafer of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin along with many nieces and nephews.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Nick & Esther Shong, husband Bill, sister Joanne (Paul) Ponthan, brothers Rich Shong and Archie Shong, and sister-in-laws Garnet (Wally) and Kathy (Rich) and brother-in-laws Glen Shafer, Bob Shafer, Gary Kleist and Gary Anderson. She is also preceded in death by sister-in-laws Betty Passon, Eunice Shafer, and Mona Kleist. She is further preceded in death by nephews David Shong and Mike Passon and niece Christine Swagger.
In lieu of flowers, the family wishes all memorials to be given directly to Inspiration Ministries, Walworth, WI and Faith Evangelical Free Church, Fall Creek, WI.
Funeral services will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Fall Creek, with burial to follow at West Lawn Cemetery in Augusta.
Family and friends are welcome to call on Wednesday from 11:00 a.m. until the time of the service at the church.
The family is being assisted by Anderson Funeral Home in Augusta.
Online condolences can be left at www.andersonfhaugusta.com.
