Shirley Nadine Huggins Sanders of Pensacola, Florida, passed away on Thursday, May 25, 2023, at the age of 91. She was born on June 23, 1931, in Olathe, Kansas, where she grew up in a very close-knit and loving family.
She graduated from Olathe High School in 1949 where she played drums and was a majorette in her high school band. After graduation she met a handsome sailor from Arkansas named Charles (Sandy) Sanders. They married in 1950 and enjoyed 27 years of Navy life until retiring in Pensacola in 1974.
As a Navy wife, she was active in the Officers Wives Club where she ran the Thrift Shop and organized visits to the local nursing homes. She worked for the Escambia County Supervisor of Elections, retiring in 1996. She enjoyed playing bridge, bowling, and golf and was well known as a poet and skit writer. In recent years, she enjoyed Bible Study, Sunday School, and volunteering at Perdido Bay United Methodist Church. Every Saturday morning, you could find her with her Breakfast Club at Hardee’s. She loved having a conversation and a laugh with her sisters Peggy and Toody and her friend Kathy Waller. Her greatest joy was being with her family, especially her grandsons and her great-grandchildren who affectionately called her “Poodle.”
Shirley is preceded in death by her parents, Floyd and Daisy Huggins; her brothers, Robert (Bud), Ted, Floyd, and Larry and son-in-law Dale Fortlage.
She is survived by her husband, Charles Sanders; daughters, Kathi Ayers-Fortlage and Kristi (Don) Suarez; grandsons, Travis Suarez, Matt (Ashley) Suarez, and Chase Fortlage; great-grandchildren, Grace Suarez, Jaxson Suarez, and Lexi Fortlage; sisters, Vivian (Toody) Jurgens and Peggy Young as well as several nieces and nephews.
The family would like to thank Perdido Bay United Methodist Church and many friends of the family for the care and compassion they showed our mom.
A visitation for Shirley will be held Tuesday, June 6, 2023, from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM at Perdido Bay United Methodist Church, 13660 Innerarity Point Rd., Pensacola, FL 32507. A funeral service will occur Tuesday, June 6, 2023 from 11:30 AM to 2:00 PM, 13660 Innerarity Point Rd., Pensacola, FL 32507. An interment will follow services on Tuesday, June 6, 2023, from 1:00 PM to 1:30 PM at Barrancas National Cemetery, 1 Cemetery Road, Pensacola, FL 32508.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in her honor to the Building the Heart Fund at Perdido Bay United Methodist Church.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.oaklawnfunerals.com for the Sanders family.
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