Shirley Harrell

Mrs. Shirley Joan Strawhecker Harrell, age 85, passed away late Saturday, November 5, 2016, at her home. Services for Mrs. Harrell will be held at 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, November 8, 2016, at Salem Baptist Church, Climax, Georgia. The Pastor Ryan Zearing and the Pastor Tim Harrell will be officiating. Burial will follow in Salem Church Cemetery with the Rev. Marty Brock officiating there. Craig Dowdy, Tim Harrell, Trevor Brandt, Len Dean, Daniel Provence, Dan Provence, Buster Bell, and Johnny Harrell will serve as pallbearers. Shirley Joan Strawhecker was born December 21, 1930 in Arlington, Nebraska, to James L. Strawhecker and Helen Irene Fowler Strawhecker. Later, the family moved from Nebraska to California. After high school graduation Shirley began her nurses' training. There, in Stockton, California, she met a handsome Navy recruit named Ed Harrell. That Sunday morning, as she performed as the soloist at church, was the beginning of a love story that lasted through 62 years of marriage. On May 26, 2016 Ed, the love of Shirley's life and her best friend, preceded her in death. Shirley was an example of how to live a Christ-centered life. She worked as a choir director, church soloist, Sunday school teacher, vacation Bible school director, Good News Club director, pastor's wife, and any other opportunity she could find to serve Christ. She was a registered nurse and worked in private duty. Shirley was a dedicated homemaker and loving mother. She sacrificially gave of herself to her family and friends. Shirley will be missed, so very much, by her family and many, many friends. Mrs. Shirley Harrell is survived by her children, Lindy Harrell, Suzanne Harrell Brandt, Tim Harrell and wife, Alice Wilson Harrell, and Bonnie Harrell Provence and husband, Dan Provence; grandchildren, Heather Dailey Dean, James Trevor Brandt, Timothy Edward Harrell, Jennifer Anne Dowdy, Aubrie Helen Provence, Daniel Joseph Provence, II; and 7 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, Pastor Ed Harrell, and sister, Sandy Johnson.