- Date Of Birth: June 18, 1943
- Date Of Death: October 13, 2022
- State: Texas
Shirley Janette Stidham was born on June 18, 1943 in Vina, Alabama to Aaron Travis and Violet Mae (Pharr) Stidham. She grew up in Vina with her two brothers, Eugene and David, and was blessed to grow up with cousins and grandparents all in the same community.
On July 28, 1962 she married Jerry Thomas Comer. They met at a dance in Corinth, Mississippi and married two months later. Jerry was drafted into the army and was stationed at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. Upon Jerry’s discharge, they decided to stay in the area and bought a house. They there lived at 1916 Southland Avenue in Highland Park for 51 years where they raised their two children, Tony and Stephanie. The home had an open door to visitors from all over the world. In fact, many people from other countries were told to go to the Comers when they arrived in the area.
Shirley was a homemaker and a wonderful cook. When traveling, she would buy the community published cookbooks from the area. She would read the cookbook and put a check next to the recipes she thought would be good to make. She would cook with her grandkids and shared recipes with them. A special tradition was one of us girls calling every Thanksgiving Eve asking for the Jello Salad recipe. Even if they had the recipe written down, it meant everything to her that they called and asked for it again.
She was also had a wonderful sense of humor. There was many laughs over the years with friends and family. She was a practical joker and pulled many tricks on people. If you ask her friends and family, they would all have a wonderful story of something “horrible” she did. Luckily, she instilled in us that love of humor too.
She also was all about making memories with her children and grandchildren. She created the Granny Club, granny bag (a bag full of special treats), and made photo albums for their time together so the kids could look back and remember the fun times.
She also had a serious side and was involved in church ministry. She lead the worship team, orchestrated special services, and group ministries. Spiritual development was a very important to her and she helped nurture that in others.
Shirley and Jerry moved to Temple, Texas in December 2020 to live with their daughter, Stephanie, and Tom. We are so happy and blessed they were able to live out their days here and getting to see their great grandchildren grow. Having them in our home to the end was a wonderful blessing.
Shirley was proceeded in death by her husband, Jerry on October 26, 2021. She is survived by her brother Eugene; her children; Stephanie (Tom) and Tony (Chelsea); grandchildren: Sarah (Cory), Hannah (Ricky), Caleb, and Chase; and great-grandchildren: Levi, Aurelia, Elivia, and Killian.
