Shirley Ann Woodward was born on 9/11/1935 and passed through Heaven’s Gates on 07/22/2019, the last surviving child of 12 children. Shirley was survived by her husband; Richard of 65 wonderful years, 3 beautiful daughter; Deb, Sherry, and Kathy, and her amazing son: Rick. She also had 8 grandchildren, and 5 great-great children that will love and cherish her memory for many years to come. It broke her heart to also be predeceased by her loving daughter, Pamela.
She spent the first 17 years in Jenny Lind, Arkansas. In her senior year, she moved to Mount Greenwood, IL to live with her sister where she met Richard Culp, her future husband, while attending the local Nazarene Church. They were married on June 19, 1954 and spent the next 65 years together.
She had a very outgoing personality and loved to feed everyone. Our home was always filled with family and friends, laughter and joy. If you didn’t have a place to go on a holiday, you came to our house. She taught us to always help those in need and have faith in God. One of her favorite sayings was “Lord willin’ and the crick don’t rise.”
Shirley was immensely proud of her family. One of her proudest moments was when Deb (BSN, MSN) and Pam (BSN) graduated from college. “Nana” adored her grandchildren and later her great-grandchildren. Crafting was one of her passions which she passed down to her daughters. Another passion was reading, which also passed down to her kids. Thank goodness for Kindle readers, she made good use of hers!
In her youth, her favorite things were going to church with friends and playing high school basketball in Arkansas. At a young age, she always dreamed of being a movie star like Doris Day (she said with a chuckle!). In her adventurous days she raced dune buggies (and won sometimes!). We kids thought that was the coolest thing. Her happy place was in her garden among pink roses (her favorite color) and vegetables to put on the table. Everyone in the family bowled so she did that regularly too.
A long illness robbed her of her mobility so she took up crochet, belonging to a guild that met once per week. Facebook became her window to the outside world where her bold comments made us all laugh. All of her many nieces and nephews never failed to weigh in too. Everyone in the Winter Haven Hospital infusion center received crocheted blankets and became trusted friends. Het last days were spent at the Good Shepherd Hospice House in Auburndale, FL. They took such good care of her and we felt so blessed by their loving attention.
Shirley chose to leave this world quietly with no fanfare or memorials. She certainly didn’t live her life that way; she lived every minute of it.
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