Born August 29, 1929, in St. Louis, MO, to Earl and Verna Young. Called home by her Lord and Savior on May 21, 2020, from her residence at Belmont Village in Nashville, TN after a brief illness.
As a child Shirley attended 14 different schools, as her father’s job transferred the family often. Shirley attended Sophie Newcomb College in New Orleans, then graduated from LSU with a degree in History. While at LSU, she met her college sweetheart and future husband, Massey D. McConnell. Shirley and Massey had two sons, Mike and Brian. Massey became one of the first officers of the U.S. Air Force when it was established in 1947. Shirley enjoyed traveling and living in different parts of the world with Massey and their boys as he served in the Air Force. Shirley and Massey’s life together spanned the continent – from Newfoundland, Canada to Alaska, from Hawaii to Washington D.C. to Mangham, Louisiana where they retired from military life and dissolved their marriage.
In 1978, Shirley and Samuel Lobrano were married. They enjoyed their pets, traveling, fishing, and building a home together. She loved her extended Lobrano family and the couple spent a lot of time with Sam’s brother and sister-in-law, George and Billie Jean. After years of poor health, Sam passed away in 2001. On the Lobrano side, Shirley is survived by her nephew and his wife, Wyatt and Carol Lobrano.
Shirley found her life’s calling when she became librarian of the Mangham Branch library of the Richland Parish Library system. She encouraged many of Mangham’s children as they used the library and attended her creative children’s programs. She was loved by library patrons of all ages. She learned their tastes in books and was always ready with literary recommendations. She helped with homework, explained the Dewey Decimal System and card catalogs, introduced scores of kids to the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and Harry Potter, and never failed to have her library goose dressed for the occasion. She was an avid reader and a member of the Kindred Spirits Book Club of Rayville. She was a great listener and a confidant to many. One of her great joys after she retired from the library was being recognized from her days behind the book counter.
Shirley was a faith-filled woman of God. She believed and often said that her faith in God is what carried her through the difficult times in her life. She became a Methodist while in high school in New Orleans at Rayne Methodist Church. She was a member of Mangham United Methodist Church and Bible Study Fellowship International. At Belmont Assisted Living home in Nashville, she was a weekly Bible study leader. She loved to learn and never stopped. In fact, she was studying Spanish and writing at the time of her death.
She loved to show hospitality to others. For many years she hosted college women from the University of Louisiana Monroe Wesley Foundation while they served the Mangham community for the MUMC mission project “Day of the Cross.” She would stay up late into the night with the girls telling stories of her life and laughing with them.
Shirley experienced many great losses in her lifetime, such as the early passing of her mother; and the deaths of her sons, Brian and Mike; and her grandson, Jordy McConnell. Even through the heartbreak, Shirley had an exuberant joy for life. Her greatest treasures were her seven grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren.
She is survived by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren: Meghann McConnell Myers (husband, Jesse) and children Jackson, Audrey and August James Myers of Houston, TX; Cassie McConnell Kelley (husband, Charles) and son Ward of Nashville, TN; Michaelanne McConnell Lauderdale (husband, Matthew) and daughter Frankie Lou Lauderdale of Inlet Beach, FL; Molly McConnell of Austin, TX; Caleb McConnell (wife, Sarah) and sons Cohen and Cael McConnell of Dallas, TX; Mark McConnell, Ph.D (wife, Mary Elizabeth) and children Mason and Massey of Starkville, MS; and great-granddaughters Julie and Jaylin McConnell.
Shirley also leaves behind two daughters-in law: Cindy McConnell of Nashville, TN and Monica Albritton (husband, Kyle) of Dallas. Cindy blessed Shirley by overseeing her care while she lived in Nashville. There are numerous friends, both in the Mangham area and Nashville, who will cherish her memory and the love she poured out on them.
Shirley loved God, life, her family and friends. She is dearly missed.
A memorial service for Mrs. Shirley is planned at the Mangham United Methodist Church on her 91st birthday at 2:00 pm on August 29, 2020.
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