Shirley Ann Ferguson

Graveside services for Shirley Ann Ferguson, 80, of Ore City, will be held 2:00 PM Sunday, May 31, 2020, at Coffeeville Cemetery. Mrs. Ferguson passed away on Friday, May 29, 2020 in Ore City.

Shirley is survived by her daughter, Misti Dawn Irwin and son-in-law, Danny Irwin; grandsons, Coleman Reed Cornelison and Kenneth Aaron Irwin; a sister, Patricia E. McFarlane and brother-in-law, John A. McFarlane; as well as a niece, Whitney McFarlane Pate and husband, Daniel Pate and their children, Alexander, William and Bella.

Shirley is preceded in death by her father, Coleman K. Qualls; mother, Opal J. Qualls; husband, Benny Reed Ferguson and a daughter, Alisa Ann Cornelison.

Shirley was born on March 16, 1940, in Avinger, Texas. In 1954, she and her family moved to Ore City, where her parents operated a small grocery store named “Shirley’s Grocery”, named for her and where she loved to work as a teenager. She graduated in 1957, from Diana, since Ore City only had elementary and middle school. After high school, she attended Draughn’s Business School in Dallas.

Shirley and Benny were married March 27, 1958, and lived in Dallas until 1972, when they moved to Ore City. Shirley began working in the Ore City ISD Superintendent’s office in 1976 and retiring as Business Manager in 1998. She also loved her cats, which were her babies.
The date that meant most to Shirley, was May 18, 1963, when she symbolized her dedication to her God, Jehovah, by water baptism. She valued His word, the Bible, and loved sharing what she had learned with others. One of her favorite scriptures to share was Revelation 21:4.

“And He will wipeout every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be any more. The former things have passed away.”