Shirley (Sue) Bates Stow, 96, of Ames, Iowa, passed away on November 28, 2025. Shirley was born to Coyd and Dorothy (Chambers) Bates in Oakland, Iowa, on July 25, 1929. She lived her entire life in Iowa, residing in Ames since 1982.

Born at the advent of the Great Depression in a small town in southwest Iowa, she witnessed immense changes to the world over nine decades. She embodied a lifelong dedication to education, earning a two-year teaching degree from Simpson College, a Bachelor of Science in elementary education degree from Drake University, and master's and doctorate degrees in educational administration from Iowa State University. How do you summarize a 70-year career? She had professional experience as a classroom teacher, department head for Social Studies (K-12), elementary principal, curriculum coordinator (K-12), co-director of the School Improvement Model (SIM) Center at Iowa State University and Associate Professor in Educational Administration. Shirley retired from Iowa State University at the age of 75 and continued consulting into her early 90s. Her career focused on teacher effectiveness, student learning and outcomes, peer coaching, and leadership development, especially for female educators.

Shirley was predeceased by her husband of 60 years, Kenneth Stow (1922-2011). She is survived by their son: Kevin (Shelley) Stow of Ames and three grandchildren: Kristopher Stow (Taylor Stoeckler) of Ankeny, Betsy (Albert) Contreras of Ames, and Kendall Stow of Minneapolis as well as her two cherished great-grandsons: Robert and James Contreras.

Shirley was the oldest of seven siblings. She enjoyed being the matriarch of her family and organizing family reunions. She is survived by sister Marlene Wirth, sister and brother-in-law Keralyn and Fritz Bolliger, sister-in-law Pat Bates, and brother Ron Bates. She was predeceased by sister and brother-in-law Marge and John Hayes, brother Gordon Bates, brother-in-law Delmar Wirth, and brother and sister-in-law Larry and Jeanne Bates.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Raising Readers in Story County, P.O. Box 2374, Ames, IA 50010, https://www.raising-readers.org/donate, to benefit early childhood literacy.

The family wishes to thank the staff at Northridge Village for their outstanding care and compassion.

A private family inurnment will be held at the columbarium in Collegiate United Methodist Church, Ames, Iowa.