Shirley Ann Whitley Chambers, 84, of the Pinetta community, Irwin County, Georgia, died Thursday, January 16, 2020, at the home of her daughter and son in law.
Graveside services will be held 2PM, Saturday, January 18 at Old Valley Grove Primitive Baptist Church in Irwin County, with Brother John Hancock officiating. Interment will follow in the church cemetery. The family will receive friends prior to the service from 1:00 PM until 2 PM at the church.
Mrs. Chambers was born March 11, 1935, in Irwin County to the late Howard and Helen Sandifer Whitley. She attended school in Mystic and graduated from Irwin County High School in 1953. She attended South Georgia College, where she met and married Eugene Chambers. They were married 52 years until his death in 2008. After graduating from South Georgia College, she attended Georgia Southern College, where she received her B.S. Degree in Education. Her teaching career began in Irwin County and went on to include Clayton County, Emanuel County, and Tift County. She returned to Irwin County for her final 17 years to teach first grade. Mrs. Chambers had a great love for teaching all ages but found it especially rewarding to teach her young students to read. Mrs. Chambers was a member of the Ben Hill-Irwin Retired Educators Association, Beta Pi Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma, and member of Old Valley Grove Primitive Baptist Church.
Mrs. Chambers had a great love for animals. Over the years she felt blessed to have rescued many cats and dogs. She always believed that the love she gave to her animals was returned to her exponentially.
Mrs. Chambers is survived by her daughter and son in law Cheryl and Charles Gibson of the Pinetta community; sister Jerry Hall and her husband Buck; niece: Wanda McCranie and her husband Chris all of the Pinetta community; nephew: Craig Hall of Perry; great-nephews: Dr. Hunter Hall of Savannah and Dustin Hall of Perry; sister-in-law: Margret Farnell; niece-in-law: Gena Farnell and her husband Rick Flaugher of Tallahassee, Florida; and a nephew-in-law: Hank Farnell of Panama City, Florida.
The family would like to thank Southern Care Hospice Services in Moultrie for the care, support, and love they provided Mrs. Chambers and her family during her last years. Gratitude is extended to Dr. Brent Savelli, his nurse Vicki Salensky, and his entire staff for the care of Mrs. Chambers over the last 21 years. The family would also like to thank Dr. Glenn M. McCalpin for his guidance through a very difficult last hospitalization for Mrs. Chambers.
Flowers will be accepted, or memorial gifts may be made to Old Valley Grove Primitive Baptist Church, % Burnell Boyd at 67 Harold Tyson Road, Tifton, GA 31794 or the Fitzgerald-Ben Hill County Animal Shelter at 106 Lions Park Road, Fitzgerald, GA 31750.