Christine Ruth Birdwell

Christine Ruth Birdwell passed away the morning of May 3, 2025, in Hospice care at Westminster-Thurber/Ohio Living. She was born on Christmas Eve, 1931 in Hammond, Indiana. She was preceded in death by her parents, Karl Christian Kornman and Mildred Rarick Kornman, and by her former husband, Rawson Paige Birdwell Jr. Christine is survived by her daughter Leslie Birdwell Shortlidge and her son-in-law Jack Shortlidge, two grandsons , and two great-grandchildren.


Christine grew up in Chicago, western Pennsylvania, and Newark, Ohio during her early childhood due to her father’s struggles to find work during the Great Depression, and then was settled with family in Newark upon the death of her mother. After graduating from Denison University in Granville, Ohio where she earned her BA , she attended Northwestern University.. Christine stayed in Chicago after earning her MA, and worked in the training department at Marshall Fields’. She moved to East Lansing with her husband and daughter in 1962 and began teaching at Michigan State University (where she earned her doctorate) as a temporary employee a few years later, and eventually became a full professor. In 2011, she moved to Columbus, Ohio and became a resident at Westminster-Thurber.


Christine taught writing at MSU in what used to be the department of American Thought and Language where she made life-long friends among her colleagues. After retirement, she continued to use her knowledge of language as an editor at the Journal of Popular Culture.


Central to her life was her involvement in theatre. While never a professional, she worked with independent and bold directors in local community-based theatre (The Community Circle Players at both the original Okemos location and then in Lansing at the Riverwalk) and appeared in plays that challenged audience expectations. This was an expression of her intellectual depth and breadth as well as her talent and commitment to her craft.


Christine passed on her appreciation of literature and the arts to her daughter Leslie, to whom she lovingly read to every night before bed until Leslie began to read ahead faster on her own.


In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to support the work of the Summer Circle Theatre at MSU . A direct link can be found at the following website: https://give.msu.edu/?sid=9354 <https://give.msu.edu/?sid=9354>


Choose the “Summer Circle Theatre” option from the list. Checks may also be sent to Summer Circle Theatre, ℅ University Advancement, Spartan Way, 535 Chestnut Road, Room 300, East Lansing, Michigan 48824 <https://www.google.com/maps/search/535+Chestnut+Road,+Room+300,+East+Lansing,+Michigan+48824?entry=gmail&source=g>   .


A memorial will be held on Monday, May 12 at 2:00 p.m. at the Westminster-Thurber community in Columbus, Ohio, on the 8th floor of the Goodale Landing building.