Shirley Bradshaw Barber – beloved daughter of Lon and Betty Bradshaw and mother of Robert Lon Barber – was called home by Our Heavenly Father to share in the eternal peace and love of Jesus on May 17, 2015, at the age 76.
As a child, my mother loved to roller skate, play with her dogs and was the first girl at school to wear jeans and play softball. She always helped her parents and developed a strong work ethic that continued throughout her life. She loved lilac bushes, Spud Nut Doughnuts, Mickey Mouse, Tarzan and Sheena, Queen of the Jungle comics and would sing songs by Al Jolson. She saved her pennies in jars earmarked for various things and would buy her mother “surprise gifts” as well as giving WWII Veterans what she could. As a teenager, my mom loved the character of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With The Wind and she was insistent on buying her first car, which was a Ford Fairlane that had a pink interior. In 1961, she and my father married and shortly after left Hutchinson to live in Wichita. She later spent enjoyable years living in Scottsdale and Austin before returning to Hutchinson in 2002.
A woman of great decorum and charm, my mother was first and foremost a compassionate friend to those in need, respecting their integrity with generosity, kindness and empathy. She especially loved animals and strongly advocated for their well being, which was fostered by her father at an early age. Over the years, her dogs gave her great joy and she loved them dearly.
My mother would tell me many times that her greatest joy was being a mother and her happiest moment in life was learning that she was pregnant with me. She loved me more than life and instilled in me love, respect for others and all of the appropriate spiritual and humanistic values that a good mother should. One of her favorite activities was to hold and read to me – always with the goal to make sure that I could read and fully actualize in the most successful way. She encouraged and nurtured my desire to draw by providing the means to take art classes in my early years and later in college. One of her happiest moments was when I graduated from college as seen in her love in the two photos here. We were always a “team,” through the best and worst of times and will always be so.
My mother was a woman of strong faith and determination and she faced life's challenges with courage, grace and dignity. She loved to laugh with her friends, enjoyed beautiful things and always committed herself in doing the best that she could. Some of her favorite activities included gardening, listening to Wagner and Rachmaninoff, watching Sherlock Holmes and detective mysteries, comedies, animal programs and even TV cartoons, which brought her much enjoyment in the final months of her life. My mother loved haute couture, fashion & design, antiques and “hunting for treasures.”
Throughout her life, my mother was devoted to and deeply loved her parents, her son, her dogs and close friends with a special love for the Catholic Church.
May God bless you my sweet, beautiful mother in your new life! I am so happy for you! Love, your son! Forever and ever!
Visitation will be on Wednesday from 9:00am to 9:00pm at Penwell-Gabel Funeral Home in Hutchinson. Parish Rosary will be at 9:30am and Funeral Mass will be at 10:00am at St. Teresa's Catholic Church on Thursday with Fr. Voelker celebrating. Memorials may be sent to The Hutchinson Animal Shelter in care of Penwell-Gabel Funeral Home.