Shirley Nordquist, longtime Sonoma County dance instructor, dies at 76

Shirley Nordquist, one-half of a Santa Rosa dance instructing duo who instilled confidence and a sense of etiquette in generations of Sonoma County teenagers, has died. She was 76.

Nordquist, who grew up poor and suffered rheumatic fever as a child, was guided by a strong belief that traditional dance combined with proper social training could help young people avoid ridicule and overcome shyness, said her husband and fellow dance instructor, Stephen Nordquist.

Described as an elegant woman and impeccable dresser, she insisted her charges wear proper evening attire with prescribed dress lengths and prohibited anyone from rejecting a dance invitation from another student, her husband said.

“She knew what it was like to be made fun of,” Stephen Nordquist said. “And she didn’t want anyone to go through that.”

She died May 5 at her Santa Rosa home after a long struggle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. She had been bedridden for four years, her husband said.

Former Nordquist Dance students recalled how her wit and sense of decorum had a lasting effect on thousands of junior high and high school students.

“I always thought she was hysterical,” said former Santa Rosa resident Keri Harrison of Murrieta, who took lessons in the early 1990s. “She had such a dry sense of humor. She was everybody’s mom. And she didn’t take flak. She was a stickler about dress codes.”

Nordquist was born in Alton, Ill., in 1938, at the end of the Great Depression. She had two siblings. Her parents moved the family to California on the advice of doctors after Nordquist fell ill.

They eventually settled in Healdsburg, where Nordquist graduated from high school in 1957.

She married her first husband and had two daughters, Shelly Sutliff and Denise Cimino, both of Santa Rosa.

In 1972, she met and married her second husband, Stephen Nordquist, who as a child took dance lessons from their future business partners, Bob and Shirley Burkart. They enrolled their daughter, Denise, and later, Shirley Nordquist took her first lessons.

It developed into her life’s occupation. “She found her passion,” her husband said.

The Nordquists began working with the Burkarts in 1976 and took over the business 10 years later. Shirley Nordquist taught ballroom dance, specializing in the waltz, and organized the Junior Dance Club, which performed across the county. Classes were held at the Veterans Memorial Building in Santa Rosa.

She also was a mentor and “second mom,” especially to teenage girls, instructing thousands in social graces and imbuing confidence, her husband said.

“She was the driver,” her husband said. “She was the spark plug. She was the force behind Nordquist Dance Studio.”

Failing health forced Shirley Nordquist to quit about six years ago. Her husband and daughter Denise continue the business today.

In addition to her husband and daughters, Nordquist is survived by two siblings and six grandchildren.

A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. May 24 at Luther Burbank Art and Garden Center in Santa Rosa.

You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 568-5312 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter ?@ppayne.