Shirley Ann (Ventola) Richardson, age 81, of Huntsville, AL, took her place in the alto section of the angel choir on August 30 after battling Alzheimer’s disease for over a decade. Shirley is survived by her best friend and husband, Charles (Chuck), who she dragged with her onto countless dance floors and into a myriad of social situations during their 57 years of marriage that he playfully lamented (but ended up loving). She is also survived by her daughter, Keri (Grant) Bevel and grandchildren, Grant Charles and Emily Grace Bevel. She was preceded in death by her parents, Harry Robert Ventola and Florence Ellen (Heine) Ventola; her sister, Mary Jeanette (“Jan”) LeVally; and her half-brother, Harry L. Ventola.
Shirley graduated from West High School in Columbus, OH alongside Chuck in 1961, and after taking courses at Ohio State, worked for the State of Ohio for over 10 years. She took time off to raise her daughter but resumed her service part-time for Westerville City Schools before the family relocated to Huntsville in 1990. She loved big and enjoyed many different things – walking and riding bikes to visit the creek and check on the fish with Chuck, college football, singing with Chuck and Keri in the car as the Richardson Family Chorus, 60’s music, The Weather Channel, happy movies, melty ice cream, hosting her friends and family, playing Nerts, calling members of her family various versions of a person’s posterior while playing Nerts (or UNO, or euchre…), all things Ohio State, Neil Diamond, the beach, taking day trips with her friends, Auburn, sitting in the porch glider listening to oldies or watching it rain and more than anything – her family.
She was the kind of mom who would scoop up animals who met their demise on the street in front of her house with a snow shovel and bury them before the school bus arrived so her 5-year old’s heart wouldn’t break. She was also fiercely protective of her grandchildren and kept them out of harm’s way – sometimes quite loudly – even when she couldn’t remember exactly where she was or why.
Thank you to Inisclee Hale and her team of caregivers who, for almost five years, cared for Shirley after her family could no longer care for her by themselves. They treated her like their own and with love and kindness for which we will be forever grateful. Thank you to the truly exceptional doctors and nurses in the Huntsville Hospital Emergency Department who provided Shirley with exceptional care from the moment she arrived that day to the moment she drew her last breath. They all went above and beyond to create a peaceful and compassionate environment as she transitioned from this life to the next.
Friends can visit with the family on Friday, September 6th from 1 pm until the funeral service begins at 2 pm at Trinity United Methodist Church, 607 Airport Road SW, Huntsville, AL 35802.
In lieu of flowers, please consider either making a donation in Shirley’s name to the Huntsville Hospital Foundation’s Forget Me Not Program, an initiative to train all Huntsville Hospital staff to provide more compassionate and effective care for patients with memory loss, at https://www.huntsvillehospitalfoundation.org or to the Alzheimer’s Association at https://act.alz.org. Please honor Shirley by opening your heart to someone, or just reaching out and saying hello. Find your joy and embrace it. Run around your cul-de-sac in a crazy hat when your favorite team wins. Celebrate. Dance with your loved ones. Sing. Laugh. Smile.
