Vaida Lee Shirley

Vaida Lee Shirley, 91, an elementary teacher and minister’s wife, passed away Wednesday, January 30, 2013, in Arlington.

A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday in Dido Cemetery near Eagle Mountain Lake.

Vaida Lee Simmonds was born August 28, 1921, in Fort Worth to James Rayborn and Winnie Bostick Simmonds. She graduated from Northside High School and Howard Payne College. On August 3, 1940, Vaida married J.C. Shirley, who became a minister, and together they have lived and served in Haslet, Zephyr, Riverton, Wyoming, Waxahachie, Duluth, Minnesota, Manteno, Illinois, Kokomo, Indiana, and Okay, Oklahoma, until retirement in 1985 when they moved back to Waxahachie. In 2004, Vaida moved to Grand Junction, Colorado, to be close to her son, and in August 2012 they moved back to Arlington. She was a member of Tate Springs Baptist Church

Mrs. Shirley was preceded in death by her husband, J.C. Shirley, in 1999.

She is survived by her son, Kent Shirley and wife, Elaine, of Arlington; grandson, Chris Shirley and wife, Brooke, of Arlington; great-grandsons, Nathan Shirley and Noah Shirley; niece, Andrea Ashlock Jones of Lake Jackson; nephew, James Sessions of Valdese, North Carolina; and half sister, Rena Jackson of Gaithersburg, Maryland.