Shirley Ann Payton Freeman

Shirley Ann Payton Freeman, age 79, passed away on Wednesday, March 26, 2014 at her residence following a lengthy illness. She was born on her father’s Indian allotment in Waurika, Oklahoma on October 15, 1934, the only child of Walter Payton and Flo Doten. She was ½ Choctaw Indian and proud to be a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

She is survived by her daughter, Kim Freeman of Yuma; son, Stephen Dale Freeman of San Diego, California; two grandchildren, Payton Dale Freeman and Jena Caitlin Freeman. She was preceded in death by her parents and her husband, Dale Freeman.

Shirley graduated from Somerton Grammar School and Yuma High School in 1952.

She retired from the Yuma County Sheriff’s Department in 1984. She was the first female officer in Yuma County to retire from the Arizona Public Safety Personnel Retirement System. She served for three Sheriffs, Sheriff Newman, Sheriff Yancey, and Sheriff Phipps with 22 years of service.

Family will receive friends and family on Monday, March 31, 2014 from 9:00 a.m. to time of Service at 11:00 a.m. at Funeraria Del Angel, 795 W. 28th Street, Yuma. Interment will follow at Desert Lawn Memorial Park.

Arrangements under the direction of Funeraria del Angel, Yuma, AZ.