Mrs. Shirley J. Burch, 84, of Fitzgerald, Georgia, died Tuesday, May 23, 2006, at Satilla Regional Medical Center in Waycross.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM, Thursday, May 25, 2006, in Burch Hall at First Baptist Church of Fitzgerald with Rev. Gerald Thomas, Dr. Lloyd Stembridge, and Rev. Kelly Brown officiating. Interment will follow in Evergreen Cemetery. The family will receive friends from7 until 9, Wednesday evening at the funeral home.
Mrs. Burch was born December 28, 1921, in Wrightsville, Georgia, to the late G. Stacy Johnson and Gladys Moye Cochran. She was a 1937 graduate of Wrightsville High School and received her degree in music education from Georgia State College for Women in Milledgeville. She taught music in school systems in Porterdale, Claxton, Savannah, Forsyth, and Fitzgerald as well as teaching piano lessons privately in her home. Mrs. Burch also played the organ in churches served by her husband, Dr. John B. Burch as pastor. She was a member of the First Baptist Church and formerly sang with the Jubalheirs for many years.
Mrs. Burch is survived by her two daughters and sons-in-law: Tullye & Alan Ralph of Fernandina Beach, FL and Glee & Lamar Bradley of Fitzgerald; one son and daughter-in-law: Johnny & Debra Burch of Fitzgerald; 4 grandchildren: Dawn Williams, Stacy & Melodie Wells, Jonathan Burch and Emily Burch; 3 great-grandchildren; Stephen Swain, Hannah Williams and Chloe Wells; brothers: Bob Cochran of Conyers and Bill Cochran of Savannah. She was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. John B. Burch, Sr.