Shelby McCasland

Shelby Grace McCasland, 21, of St. Marys passed away on December 23, 2022, in Des Moines, Iowa. A memorial mass will be held at 10:00am on Saturday, December 31, 2022, at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Indianola, Iowa. A visitation will take place at St. Thomas from 4:00pm-7:00pm on Friday, December 30, 2022. Rosary will take place at 7:00pm following the visitation. Burial will take place at the St. Marys Cemetery at a later date.
Shelby attended Martensdale-St. Marys High School, graduating in 2019. During her time in high school, she was a member of many different clubs, sports, and organizations, including the Greater Des Moines Partnership Youth Leadership Initiative where she received the Outstanding Youth Award. While a senior in high school, Shelby was the inaugural president of the Martensdale- St. Marys FFA Chapter. After winning the State of Iowa FFA competition in extemporaneous speech, she proudly represented Iowa at the FFA National Convention.
After high school, Shelby’s passion to succeed allowed her to finish her associates degree one year later at DMACC. While at DMACC, Shelby was a member of Phi Theta Kappa International Collegiate Honor Society as well as a student ambassador. She was a proud recipient of the Mark Pearson Award. Shelby continued her hard work, graduating Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing/Communications and Business Management from Simpson College in 2022. While at Simpson, she was the president of Simpson’s Omicron Delta Kappa Collegiate National Honor Society, and also participated in speech and debate. A gifted speaker, Shelby won multiple awards, including a 2021 National Championship. Shelby worked for Iowa Donor Network in 2021 as a public outreach intern. Working for the Iowa Donor Network was a lifelong dream, as she knew how much donation could positively affect the lives of others. After completing her education, Shelby found a job she loved with Kemin Industries as the digital marketing coordinator for Crop Technologies North America Business Unit. She had a planned work trip to Belgium with Casey in the fall of 2023 for which they were very excited.
Shelby was truly an old soul. She was always referred to as the “Mom” of whatever group she was in. She loved to enjoy a good book, crocheting, sewing, crafting, baking, and putting together puzzles. Her faith was a very important part of her life. Shelby was always active in the church. She was proud to be an alter server for many years. In high school, Shelby would often attend Monday night Rosary at the church. She was also an avid Taylor Swift fan. Anyone who crossed paths with Shelby could attest to her kind and loving nature. She never met a stranger. She had a way of making people feel welcome and loved. Shelby believed a life of helping others was a life well lived.
Shelby was born at Methodist hospital on February 18, 2001, into the hands of her mother, who had the profound privilege of not only being the first face she saw and the first voice she heard, but also her last. She is survived by her parents, Doug and Amy (Wilgenbusch) McCasland; sister, Sydney; significant other, Casey Baker; grandmothers, Connie McCasland and Shirley Wilgenbusch; aunt, Kasey (Steve)Van Veen; aunt, Crissy (Bobby) Brooks; uncle, Barry (Nikki) McCasland; aunt, Tracy (Mike) O’Brien; cousins, Lucas (Lauren) Wilgenbusch, Lane Wilgenbusch, Quinten O’Brien, Devon (Kelly) O’Brien, Jordan O’Brien, Luke McCasland and Larra McCasland; the Baker family who loved Shelby dearly; her and Casey’s loving cat, Jeff; and many close friends and family.
Shelby is preceded in death by her grandfathers, Joe McCasland and Pete Wilgenbusch; and an uncle, Joe Wilgenbusch.
Shelby’s family kindly asks that in lieu of flowers, memorials be directed towards the family. These memorials will be used to benefit causes which were important to Shelby.