Obituary of Shirley Ward

SHIRLEY ANNE WARD

 

Richmond Virginia, was the birthplace of Shirley Anne Ward, born on September 8, 1955 and the only

child of Leroy and Martha Ward. Shirley lived in Washington D.C. from 1941 to 1973. At t he age of 16,

she began attending Metropolitan Baptist Church and in a Sunday evening service received Jesus Christ

as her personal Savior. From that time on, she served the Lord faithfully.  She had the privilege of seeing

her Roman Catholic mother place her faith in Christ also.

 

Shirley was formally schooled in Washington, D.C. , George Washington University, IBM school, and

Galludet College for the Deaf where she learned to teach sign language.

 

With a love for her country, Shirley served in the United States Navy for 31 years.  Upon her retirement,

she moved to Bisbee, Arizona. However, that was not the end of her service to her country, as she

worked at Fort Huachuca in a communication center as a civilian. After 18 years of service, she retired

in October, 1991

 

In Sierra Vista and Fort Huachuca, Shirley was an avid bowler as well as being a youth bowling instructor.

She was also an active member of the Bisbee NARFE, Chapter 1880 until it moved to Sierra Vista where

she retained her membership in Chapter 1400.

 

Shirley was an active member of the First Baptist Church of Bisbee. She sang in the choir and often led

the congregational singing in the evening services. Due to health reasons, Shirley moved to Tucson in

2006. There she became a member of Pantano Baptist Church. She was the teacher for the senior

women’s Sunday School class until she suffered a stroke in 2012. Shortly after this, and with much

prayer, Shirley was led of the Lord to resign her responsibilities as the teacher of the women’s class and

leave Pantano Baptist. She then joined the fellowship of Bethel Baptist Church where she remained and

served the Lord as actively as her health would allow. When Shirley was unable physically to serve or

attend church in person, she would use her time to serve Him at home by being a prayer warrior. She

continued this ministry until the Lord called her home on the evening of November 2, 2019.

 

Shirley will be greatly missed. Her wit, her humor, her kindness, her sincere interest in others,

and her wonderful prayer support for missionaries and friends leaves us with sweet memories of a great

and godly woman.

 

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be given to Bethel Baptist Church, 11040 E. Escalante Rd. Tucson,

AZ 85730 for the church air-conditioning fund.

 

 

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