Joan E. Shipley, 71, of Holmdel, NJ, passed away on Nov. 12, 2011 in Jersey Shore Hospital, Neptune, NJ. She was surrounded by her family. Mrs. Shipley was born in Evanston, IL on May 2, 1940, the eldest daughter of Nicholas R. and Rosalie M. LeJeune Troik. She graduated from the National College of Education in 1962 and taught second grade at the Irene E. Hynes School, Morton Grove, IL. On June 22, 1963, she married Edward N. Shipley of Baltimore, MD, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Glenview, IL. She and Edward moved to Maryland, living in Bethesda and Potomac, before moving to Holmdel, NJ in 1972. For 25 years, she stayed at home raising her three children, keeping them busy with arts and crafts, helping them with homework and chauffering them to after school activities. Education remained a special interest for her and in 1973, she founded the Holmdel Summer Enrichment Program, which offered children's classes in typing and rocket science, among other things. In 1990, she returned to teaching part time for the Monmouth-Ocean Education Services Commission until retiring in 2001. As a retiree, Mrs. Shipley became an avid genealogist, traveling around the U.S. and to Europe to track down relatives and document family history. No vacation for her was complete without a trip to the local cemetery to search for information about her ancestors' lives. She was an active member of many genealogical societies, including the Monmouth County Genealogy Society, where she founded the German Special Interest Group, the National Genealogy Society, and the Luxembourg American Cultural Society, and the Chicago Genealogical Society. She also completed a course through the National Genealogical Society on American Genealogy. Mrs. Shipley also enjoyed helping others learn how to trace their own ancestry, volunteering at the Family History Center in Eatontown, reviewing applications for the First Families of Monmouth County and giving talks on research techniques and photograph preservation. In 2009, she published a book The Koeune Immigrants and Their Luxembourg Ancestors. Of all her genealogical accomplishments, she was most proud of earning Daughters of the American Revolution certification for her eldest daughter. At the time of her passing, she was compiling documentation for Chicago Pioneer certification. Her sister and daughter plan to submit the application in her honor. In addition to her husband, Mrs. Shipley is survived by her three children, Elisabeth of Ridgewood, NJ, Linda Mayhew with her husband, Jason, of Austin, TX, and Edward of Vernon, CT; her sister Margaret Jean Lillethun of Vorhees, NJ; her nephews David Lillethun of Atlanta, GA and Erik Lillethun of San Diego, CA. Visiting hours will be at the Holmdel Funeral Home, 26- South Holmdel Road, Holmdel NJ on Tuesday, Nov. 15, from 2 – 4 and 7-9 pm. The funeral mass will be at St. Catharine's Church, 108 – Middletown Road, Holmdel NJ at 9 am on Wednesday, Nov. 16. Interment will follow at a private service. Donations in honor of Joan Shipley may be sent to support breast cancer research and treatment at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue New York, NY 10065.