The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by Donna Pindell, The Quill
Shelly Gittings
Shelly was born in Galesburg to Shirley Beavon. She was raised in Lomax and graduated from Dallas City High School.
Her first occupation was a hairdresser, but around 1990 she became a Respiratory Therapist. Currently, she works at Great River Medical Center in Burlington, IA in the sleep studies department as a Polysomnographer which means she records a person's sleep pattern, breathing, heart activity, and limb movements during sleep. Shelly is working as a runner transporting lab work to and from the lab while the sleep studies area is slow.
While living in Lomax, she was a volunteer EMT for 18 years.
Shelly is an active member of the Stronghurst Booster Club and heads up the Stronghurst Days festival.
She is married to Ronnie Gittings and they live on the north side of Stronghurst. Ronnie works for the Village of Stronghurst.
Shelly and Ronnie have four children, Justin Gittings, Lauren Chockley, Jessica Burrell all in the Stronghurst area and Andy Gittings of Dallas City. They have six grandchildren with another one due soon.
Her family is very close and try to spend a lot of time together. When the children were young, the family would take a yearly trip to Silver Dollar City and then visit Shelly's grandparents who lived in southern Missouri.
Two of her favorite quotes are: "Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes" and "Everything happens for a reason."
As soon as the current "social distancing" in our country improves, Shelly is looking forward to a big family dinner to make up for missing the one they usually have at Easter.