Shirley J. Ely, 78, of Fitzgerald, died Sunday, November 22, 2015, at Tift Regional Medical Center in Tifton.
Funeral services will be held 11 AM, Wednesday, November 25, 2015, at First Baptist Church of Fitzgerald with the Rev. Blane Jacobs officiating. Interment will follow at 2 PM in the Douglas City Cemetery in Douglas. The family will receive friends from 6-8 Tuesday evening at the funeral home in Fitzgerald.
Mrs. Ely was born February 6, 1937, in Byromville, Georgia, to the late George Washington & Sarah Lucinda Moore Rhoden. She was a graduate of Coffee County High School and moved to Fitzgerald in 1965. She formerly worked with the Ben Hill County Probate Court and spent most of her career in the Magistrate office. She started as a clerk in 1987 and was appointed a Magistrate Judge in 1994. Mrs. Ely served as Chief Magistrate of Ben Hill County for 14 years. She was a member of the First Baptist Church and the Baracca Sunday school class.
She is survived by her children and their spouses: Tim & Sedonni Ely of Vienna, Cindy & Alonzo McCauley of Fitzgerald, and Anthony Ely of Rochelle; her grandchildren: Maegan & Wesley Reeves of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Wesley McCauley of Fitzgerald, Dylan Ely, Micaela Hillard, Jared Hillard, and Neil Louthan, all of Rochelle; a great-grandson, Emmett Reeves of Colorado Springs, Colorado; her fiancé, Colin Baldwin of Charleston, South Carolina; a sister, Georgia Mae Huckaby of Fitzgerald; four brothers: J.C. Rhoden of Pelham, Alabama, J.W. & Kathy Rhoden of Florence, South Carolina, T.L. & Loretha Rhoden of Monroe, North Carolina, and George W. & Jane Rhoden, Jr. of Florence, South Carolina; as well as several nieces and nephews. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Marvin L. Ely; a son, David Marvin Ely; a brother, R.L. Rhoden; and a sister, Lois Miller.
The family suggests those desiring to send memorials may send them to Hospice of Tift Area, P.O. Box 747, Tifton, GA 31793.