Shirley Rachel Holley

Shirley Rachel Holley (born Rachel Coppock) was the 13th child born to Pearl and Jessie Coppock 5/11/1942 in Guyton Georgia. Her mother passed away 7 weeks later. Her aunt Marie Hanson took her to Philadelphia to live. Her aunt Marie died when Shirley was 3 years old; so her 1st cousin Virginia Sapp raised Shirley as her very own child.

Shirley attended Catholic school thru 5th grade, then boarding school in Cheyney PA for 3 years. At the age of 14 Shirley returned to public school in Philly. She was skilled in American Sign Language, and took numerous computer program classes. In her later years she became Web Developer for the United States Antarctic Program and received awards for her quality of service. She retired from Raytheon Polar Services in 2002.

In 2005 Shirley became the founder of the Denver Sarcoidosis Awareness Support Group. She made herself available to others living with Sarcoidosis across the U.S. and mentored those who wanted to start their own support groups in other states. Shirley was a member of the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research (FSR) Support Group to Stop Sarcoidosis, an FSR Advisory Council member and a member of the FSR Research Committee located in Chicago. She was volunteer webmaster for Nurturing Our Village Association and Lowry Community Christian Church for 8 years. She was featured in a Disney documentary for her volunteerism.

Shirley loved working and playing on her computer and often helped family and friends with their computer problems. Her hobbies were crossword puzzles, logic problems, crocheting, large jigsaw puzzles, playing the piano and of course web site design. During her younger years she loved to dance at parties, and continued to do so until health issues slowed her down.

At the age of 15 she met Leonard Holley, the love of her life and married him at 19. Shirley and Leonard were blessed with two beautiful sons (Leonard Jr. and Derrick). She lived in Philadelphia, PA, Fort Wadsworth - Staten Island NY, Bad Kreuznach Germany, Fort Hood - Killeen Texas, Fort Devens – Ayer, MA, Ft Dix, NJ, Augsburg Germany, and finally Denver Colorado.

Shirley began singing solos in church at the age of 5. There were always gospel singers in her home; such as Clara Ward & the Ward Singers, Sister Rosetta Thorp, the Roberta Martin Singers, and many others. She went to Mass every day before school and Mass on Sundays followed by services with her family at Golden Gate Baptist Church. She later joined Cornerstone Baptist Church, then Metropolitan Baptist Church in Philly. Shirley was a member of the Greater Saint John Baptist Church in Denver and served as the church clerk. She joined Heritage Christian Center in 1993.

Shirley leaves to mourn her beloved husband Leonard Holley Sr.; 2 sons (Leonard W. Holley Jr., Derrick J. Holley): 2 daughter in-laws (Cassandra Holley, Mary Bergin): 2 grandsons (Devin J. Holley-Bergin, Tyler M. Holley-Bergin) Denver, CO; 2 granddaughter s (Raechalle M. Holley, Na Tashia Joseph) Denver CO; 5 sisters (Sarah Hunter, Lizzie Reese - Guyton GA, Doretha Johnson - Atlanta GA, Doris Hunter - Ft. Lauderdale FL, Ella Bell Jones - Swainsboro GA; 1 brother Lonnie Coppock - Savannah GA, sister in-laws (Lorene Coppock - Guyton GA, Constance McClenney, Leona Pearson – Philadelphia, PA, Barbara Holley – Mechanicsville, VA) and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.