Shirley Ann Barnes Bernard passed away in Huntsville, Alabama at 92 years of age on November 11, 2023.Visitation will be at McConnell Funeral Home on Tuesday November 14th, from 2-2:30pm with a Celebration of Life at 2:30pm in the chapel.
She spent the last week of her life at Huntsville Hospital Hospice Family Care in Huntsville where she was surrounded by family and close friends. Shirley resided in Madison, Alabama since the death of her husband, Louis (Lou) J. Bernard, Jr, in 2005 after 54 years of marriage. Shirley and Lou spent their retirement years in Galena, Missouri enjoying their dream home on Table Rock Lake. Prior to that, she lived in Memphis and Dyersburg Tennessee for several decades. Her early marriage years were spent in the New Orleans, Louisiana area, where all of her 5 children were born.
She was known in each of her communities for her fabulous gardens and love of music. Shirley started playing piano at the age of 6 and enjoyed writing some original music and volumes of poetry. She was also an avid genealogist (this was before the internet), and meticulously researched the Barnes, Stoner, Bernard, and Hickman families as well as the family histories of other friends and family whenever requested.
Born on April 12, 1931, in Aurora, IL, she was the daughter of the late George Leslie Barnes and Verna Alice Stoner Barnes. Besides her parents she was preceded in death by her brother, Ronald Dean Barnes and her husband, Louis Joseph Bernard Jr.
Survivors include her five children: Louis Joseph (Annette) Bernard III, of Lakewood Ranch, FL; Susan (David) Crocker of Lafayette, CO; Jacquelyn (Ralph) Bernard Gesin of Toney, AL; Wendy (Joey) Tibbs of Harvest, AL; and Captain (retired) Paul Jeffrey (Anita) Bernard of Collierville, TN.
Her ten grandchildren are: Andrew Crocker of Seattle, WA; Melissa (Gray) Crocker Avery of Denver, CO; Danielle Hurst of Hendersonville, NC; Geoffrey (Jessica) Tibbs of Winston Salem NC; Douglas (Paige) Tibbs of Madison, AL; Connor (Paula) Tibbs of Madison, AL; Bill (Mary) Bernard of Millington, TN; Natasha (Christian) Huggins of Collierville, TN; Celeste Bernard (Dominic) Cardone of Covington, LA; and Samantha Bernard of Collierville, TN.
She leaves behind six great grandchildren: William Bernard of Arlington, TN and Hailey Bernard of Millington, TN; Jovie Favati, Christian Jeffery Huggins, and Nolan Huggins all of Collierville, TN; Phoenix Reign Avery of Denver, CO; and Arlo and Bodie Tibbs of Winston-Salem, NC.
Shirley was a lifelong Methodist. She attended Albion College in Albion, MI for 2 years, where she toured with the Albion Choir. She transferred to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor for her last two years, graduating with a B.A. in Education in 1953. She was a lifetime member of Zeta Tau Alpha Fraternity. During her years at University of Michigan, Shirley worked for President and Mrs. Harlan Hatcher at Ann Arbor and lived in the U of M President’s Home as the nanny for his children. She delighted in sharing stories about Ann Linda and Bobby Hatcher.
After graduation, Shirley taught one year of grade school in La Mesa, California where she met her husband, Lou, who was stationed in San Diego with the Navy on the USS Thompson. Shirley was often a substitute teacher in the West Memphis, Arkansas schools her children attended, and spent several years as a coordinator for the US Census Bureau. Favorite memories of Shirley’s include summer school at Aurora College (where she sat next to the chief of police), and working in Dr Anderson’s medical office in Aurora as his receptionist. She was a Nurses’ Aide at St. Charter Hospital in Aurora and worked summers at Heusings Jewelry shop while in high school in Aurora.
She was fiercely loved by her children and grandchildren.
