Shirley Joan Bunton

COLUMBIA - A funeral service for Shirley Joan Shannon Bunton, 84, will be held at 2:00 p.m. Sunday, March 12, 2023 at Dunbar Funeral Home, Dutch Fork Chapel, with burial in Dutch Fork Baptist Church Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 1:00 until 2:00 p.m. prior to the service at the funeral home.

Mrs. Bunton passed away on Wednesday, March 8, 2023. Born in Columbia, SC, she was a daughter of the late William Shannon and Cora Ruth Nates Shannon. She loved her family, especially her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was extremely loyal and put those closest to her on a pedestal. She made them feel very very loved. She could always make you laugh until you cried without even trying.

Shirley was an avid gardener who loved nature. She had a gift of contentment and a very soft heart for living creatures, especially cats, birds, and plants.

Surviving are her daughter, Debra “Debbie” Joan Bunton Mims (Rick); grandchildren, Melissa Joan Mims Vickers (Josh) and Lindsay Pearl Mims; great-grandchildren, Ben, James, Landon, and Amelia Vickers; brothers, Tommy Shannon (Lois), Sam “Buddy” Shannon (Patti), and Jerry Shannon (Cynthia); and many nieces and nephews.

In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her first husband, Lester Dwight Bunton; her second husband, Highland Hardee; son, Dwight Franklin “Frank” Bunton; sister, Patsy Denny; and brothers, Bill Shannon and Fred Shannon.

Memorials may be made to Sumter SPCA, 1140 S. Guignard Drive, Sumter, SC 29150, Pancreatic Cancer Action Network at https://secure.pancan.org/site/Donation2?df_id=2681 or Hospice Foundation of America at https://donate.givedirect.org/?cid=14878&n=188021

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.dunbarfuneralhomedutchfork.com for the Bunton family.