Shirley Jo Brown's Obituary
Shirley Jo Brown, age 84 of Longview, was welcomed into the loving arms of her Lord and Savior on February 23, 2020. Shirley Jo was born on September 4, 1935 in Donaldson, Arkansas to John Doyle and Thelma Dean (Thrash) Marsh.
She was a devoted Christian who worshipped and served the Lord at Elmira Chapel Cumberland Presbyterian Church for almost 50 years. She spent most of her early years in the East Texas Oil Patch. She graduated from Sabine High School in 1953 where she made lifelong friendships. She married her high school sweetheart after one year of business school and worked several jobs before going to work at Texas Eastman. She worked for 38 years at Eastman and most of that time was spent in the Health Services Department. She was the face you saw first and she knew almost every employee by name. She truly cherished her Eastman work family.
Jo Jo, as she was affectionally called, dearly loved and was very proud of her family. Her greatest joy was being in the company of her dear friends and she loved to reminisce memories.
Preceded in death by her parents, a sister, Patricia Gail Clark and nephew Chris Clark, she is survived by her son Kelly Brown (Colleen), daughters Teri Burns (Don) and Amy Velvin (Roland). Her grandchildren are Ashley Brown, Whitney Meyers (John), Taylor Cloud (Brett), Hayden Burns (Hannah) and John Velvin. Her six great-grandchildren are Ashton Brown, Riley Grant, Aiden Cloud, Andrew Cloud, Huxson Burns, and a sixth on the way. Other survivors include her sister Carolyn Praznik (Buddy) and her two nephews, Jason Kelly (Brittany), David Clark, and her niece Suzanne Gunby (Mitch).
The family would like to thank the staff at Longview Regional Medical Center ICU and nurses Emily, Jessica, Brian, Justin, and Monica. Also, Doctors Genovese, Germanwala, Jayakar, Massare, Singh, Nijim, and McDonald. Also, Cody from radiology, whom she loved.
Family visitation will be held at Rader Funeral Home in Longview on Wednesday, February 26, 2020 from 5-7 p.m. The funeral take will place on Thursday, February 27, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. at Elmira Chapel Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Burial will follow at Lakeview Memorial Gardens.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to Elmira Chapel Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 3501 Elmira Dr., Longview, TX 75605.
An online memorial guestbook may be signed at www.raderfh.com
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