Shirley Bryant Shipp

Shirley Bryant Shipp died Sunday, December 11, 2016, at Rosemont in Stone Mountain, GA. A memorial service will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 17, at Oakhurst Baptist Church, with a reception following in the Fellowship Hall.

Shirley was born in Norfolk, Virginia, on June 16, 1933, to Emma Denney Bryant and Floyd Charles Bryant. An only child, she grew up surrounded by her cousins, Charles, James and Katie Wood, who were more like brothers and sisters. On January 26, 1952, she married a young farmer she had met in high school when she was 15. When that young farmer received a call to the ministry—a call that would take them both down unexpected paths—Shirley stood with him. Their shared commitment to following God's call led them to examine the prejudices with which they had been raised and to take unpopular stands, first in the area of civil rights, and later as allies of the LGBTQ community. Although Shirley was a quiet woman who preferred to stay in the background most of the time, it could never be said of her that she was weak or fearful. In December 1969, in Wake Forest, NC, the parsonage was attacked by an anonymous night rider with a 12-gauge shotgun. The children were having a party with their friends, both black and white, despite having been warned not to by members of the church her husband pastored. When Shirley stood on principle, she stood firm, even when shotgun pellets peppered her living room wall.

At the age of 50, Shirley returned to school to become a Licensed Practical Nurse; she worked in the Elizabeth General Hospital, in Elizabeth, NJ, on the psychiatric ward. The Shipps moved to Atlanta in 1996, and she and her husband became members of Oakhurst Baptist Church in 2001.

Shirley had a deep and abiding love of family and was fiercely proud of her children, their spouses and her grandchildren. She is survived by her daughter Karen Bryant Shipp; her sons John Wesley Shipp, Jr., and F. Bryant Shipp; her daughters-in-law Virginia Shipp and Lisset Rodés; her grandchildren, Benjamin Wesley Shipp, Danielle Louise Shipp, and Gabriel Horta Rodés—and her husband and love for over 64 years, Rev. J. Wesley Shipp.

Memorial gifts in Shirley Shipp's name may be made to the Oakhurst Recovery Program or Oakhurst Baptist Church, 222 East Lake Drive, Decatur, Georgia 30030.





Funeral Home:
A. S. Turner & Sons
2773 North Decatur Road
Decatur, GA
30033