This memorial website was created in the memory of our loved one, Shirley Whelchel who was born in California on May 21, 1942 and passed away on March 28, 2005 at the age of 62. She was a beloved wife, mom, grandma, aunt, sister, and friend.  We will remember her forever.

To Those I Love and Those Who Love Me:
When I am gone, release me, let me go.
You have so many things to see and do.
You mustn't tie yourself to me with tears.
Be happy that we had so many years.

I gave you my love, you can only guess,
How much you gave me in happiness.
I thank you for the love you each have shown,
but now it's time I traveled on alone.

So grieve a while for me, if grieve you must.
Then let your grief be comforted by trust.
It's only a while that we must part,
So bless the memories within your heart.

I won't be far away, for life goes on.
So if you need me, call and I will hear.
Though you can't see or touch me, I'll be near.
And if you listen with your heart, you'll hear,
All of my love around you soft and clear.

And then, when you must come this way,
I'll greet you with a smile and say
"Welcome Home".

Shirley was a wonderful and loving person that was loved by many.  When she was very young she became active in church and stayed in church throughout her life.  Her dad taught her how to play the guitar at a young age, and she also knew how to sing.  She sang at many different churches, community singings, funerals and made a tape of her songs that we will cherish forever.   She is the only person that I have ever seen that was able to sing at her own funeral. 

Shirley loved animals, especially dogs.  She had a dog all of her life.  Her favorites were chihuahuas and pomeranians.  Her favorite color was purple, and favorite foods were hamburgers and watermelon.  She loved crocheting and collecting wolves, angels, and porcelain dolls.

At the age of 14, Shirley met the love of her life, Joe Whelchel, while on an outing to the movies with a friend of her's.  She and Joe were inseparable almost from that moment until her untimely death on March 28, 2005.  They were married on August 18th, 1958 in Pontotoc, OK. 

She traveled with Joe while he was in the United States Navy and visited many beautiful places.  Thier first daughter, Kay Lynn, was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on June 11, 1965.  After this, the family continued to travel around the world for about 12 more years.  They lived in Yokohama, Japan, Virginia, Washington D.C., and New York before Joe retired from the Navy in September of 1975.  While Joe was in the Navy, Shirley worked as a clerk in a couple of drugstores, and also as a waitress in a couple of restaurants.

When Joe retired, the family moved back to Pontotoc, OK where they would live for the rest of her life.  They actually moved into a house that Joe had helped build when he was 17.   On October 25th, 1978, they celebrated the birth of thier second daughter, Dawn Renee. 

Thier daughter Kay, was married on April 1, 1983 and blessed Shirley with two grandchildren:  Christopher Wayne on September 4, 1983, and Michelle Lynn on March 7, 1986. 

Thier daughter Dawn, was married on October 9, 1999.

January 27, 2002, was probably one of the hardest days that Shirley ever had to face.  She lost her daughter, Kay, at the young age of 36.  Kay had a heart attack.

Shirley got sick in the middle of February, 2005.  She was admitted to an Ada, Oklahoma hospital on March 4.  On March 8, she was rushed, by ambulance, to Oklahoma City.  She never left the hospital.  She had a bacterial infection caused from a minor surgery and it attacked her body and most of her organs.  On March 28, 2005, God decided that she had had enough pain, and he took her to heaven.  She was too young to go, but we will miss her and love her forever.  We know that she is with us always and watching over us.