Shirley was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana on November 15, 1950. She grew up in Westlake, Louisiana. Shirley had many professional achievements in her life including federal and state positions. She loved to spend time with family and friends and with her beloved pets. She also enjoyed auctions, garage sales, and loved tackling home improvement projects.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Leo Paul Thibodeaux and Marie Lucindy Thibodeaux; her sister, Teresa Janice Moller; her brother, Warren Lee Thibodeaux; her late husband, John Willie Sonnier; and a grandson, Jonathan Sonnier. She is survived by her husband, Dennis Clifton; her children, Gregory Thompson and Michelle Thompson Casteel; her step-children, Linda Gail Shumaker and husband, Paul, John Sonnier Jr. and wife, Roxanne, Jerry Sonnier and wife, Jenny, Dustin Clifton and wife, Crystal, Bradley Clifton and wife, Laura, and Brody Clifton; her siblings, Marie Culpepper, James Thibodeaux, and Leo Thibodeaux Jr.; sixteen grandchildren; and sixteen great-grandchildren.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, June 29, in St. Theresa Catholic Church in Carlyss. The Rev. Luke Krzanowski, M.S. will officiate. Burial will be in the Old Ritchie Cemetery in Moss Bluff under the direction of Hixson-Sulphur Memorial Funeral Home. Visitation is from 4-8 p.m. with a rosary service at 6 p.m. and will resume from 8:30 a.m. Tuesday in the funeral home. Pallbearers will be Andrew Casteel, Leo Paul Thibodeaux Jr, Shelly Parker, Pooh Parker, Craig Scott, and Jared Shumaker. Words of comfort may be shared with the family at www.hixsonfuneralhomes.com.
