Shirley Ann Barnes Bernard

Shirley Ann Barnes Bernard passed away in Huntsville, Alabama at 92 years of age on November 11, 2023. She spent the last week of her life at Huntsville Hospital Hospice Family Care in Huntsville where she was surrounded by family and close friends. Shirley resided in Madison, Alabama since the death of her husband, Louis “Lou” J. Bernard, Jr, in 2005 after 51 years of marriage. Shirley and Lou spent their retirement years in Galena, Missouri enjoying their dream home on Table Rock Lake. Prior to that, she lived in Memphis and Dyersburg Tennessee for several decades. Her early marriage years were spent in the New Orleans, Louisiana area, where all of her five children were born.

She was known in each of her communities for her fabulous gardens and love of music. Shirley started playing piano at the age of six and enjoyed writing some original music and volumes of poetry. She was also an avid genealogist (this was before the internet), and meticulously researched the Barnes, Stoner, Bernard, and Hickman families as well as the family histories of other friends and family whenever requested.

Born on April 12, 1931, in Aurora, Illinois, she was the daughter of the late George Leslie Barnes and Verna Alice Stoner Barnes. Besides her parents she was preceded in death by her brother, Ronald Dean Barnes and her husband, LCDR USN (retired) Louis Joseph Bernard Jr.

Survivors include her five children: Louis Joseph Bernard III (Annette), of Lakewood Ranch, FL; Susan Crocker (David) of Lafayette, CO; Jacquelyn Bernard Gesin (Ralph) of Toney, AL; Wendy Tibbs (Joey) of Harvest, AL; and CAPT USN (retired) Paul Jeffrey Bernard (Anita) of Collierville, TN.

Her ten grandchildren are: Andrew Crocker of Seattle, WA; Melissa Crocker Avery (Gray) of Denver, CO; Danielle Hurst of Hendersonville, NC; Geoffrey Tibbs (Jessica) of Winston Salem NC; Douglas Tibbs (Paige) of Madison, AL; Connor Tibbs (Paula) of Madison, AL; Bill Bernard (Mary) of Millington, TN; Natasha Huggins (Christian) of Collierville, TN; Celeste Bernard Cardone (Dominic) of Covington, LA; and Samantha Bernard of Collierville, TN.

She leaves behind six great grandchildren: William Bernard of Arlington, TN and Hailey Bernard of Millington, TN; Jovie Favati, Christian Jeffery Huggins, and Nolan Huggins all of Collierville, TN; Phoenix Reign Avery of Denver, CO; and Arlo and Bodie Tibbs of Winston-Salem, NC.

Shirley was a lifelong Methodist. She attended Albion College in Albion, Michigan for two years, where she toured with the Albion Choir. She transferred to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor for her last two years, graduating with a B.A. in Education in 1953. She was a lifetime member of Zeta Tau Alpha Fraternity. During her years at University of Michigan, Shirley worked for President and Mrs. Harlan Hatcher at Ann Arbor and lived in the University of Michigan President’s Home as the nanny for his children. She delighted in sharing stories about Ann Linda and Bobby Hatcher.

After graduation, Shirley taught one year of grade school in La Mesa, California where she met her husband, Lou, who was stationed in San Diego with the Navy on the USS Thompson. Shirley was often a substitute teacher in the West Memphis, Arkansas schools her children attended, and spent several years as a coordinator for the US Census Bureau. Favorite memories of Shirley’s include summer school at Aurora College (where she sat next to the chief of police), and working in Dr Anderson’s medical office in Aurora as his receptionist. She was a Nurses’ Aide at St. Charles Hospital in Aurora and worked summers at Heusings Jewelry shop while in high school in Aurora.

She was fiercely loved by her children and grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, her family has requested donations to Parkinson's Foundation in Honor of Shirley Bernard.