Obituary of Gladys Ellen Shirley

Gladys Ellen Shirley October 11, 1917 - January 19, 2014 Funeral services for Gladys Shirley, 96, of Caldwell, TX and formerly of Ft. Sumner, NM will be held on Friday, January 24, 2014 at 2:00 pm at First United Methodist Church in Ft. Sumner with Reverend Mike Stall officiating. Burial will follow at Ft. Sumner Cemetery. Visitation will be held at the church from 10:00 am until service time. Arrangements are under the direction of Kirby-Smith-Rogers Funeral Home. Gladys was born outside of Roswell, NM on October 11, 1917 to John Wesley and Bertha May (Ferguson) Lee and passed away on January 19, 2014 in Caldwell, TX. She married Printes Shirley in Roswell, NM on January 13, 1937. She worked alongside Printes on the ranches doing the same work as all of the cowboys and she was good at “cowboying.” Gladys enjoyed reading, visiting with her friends, and in later years she liked traveling to visit friends. She was a woman made tough by the life she lived and the hard work she did and as soft as a rose when it was called for; she was loving, kind, funny and enjoyed each day whatever it brought. She lived life like riding a horse, if you got bucked off you got up and got back on and for 96 years she rode well. She was well loved and will be missed greatly. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and one brother, John Wesley Lee Jr, who was killed in WWII. She is survived by one son, Lendon Duel Shirley and wife Wanda of Carlsbad, NM; two grandchildren, Angie and Lendon and some great-grandchildren; her nieces, Deby Shirley of Caldwell, TX who was her caregiver; Annala Shirley of Tyler, TX; nephews, Warren “Flip” Shirley and wife Becky of Chriesman, TX, Del Shirley and wife Eunice of Tyler, TX; Dale Shirley and wife Bea Kay of Hobbs, NM. Memorials may be made to First United Methodist Church, PO Box 410, Ft. Sumner, NM 88119 in memory of Gladys.