Shirley Ann Jameson
December 24, 1939 - April 01, 2021

Our precious Shirley passed on April 1, 2021, after a long imprisonment with Alzheimer's. She will not be defined by that disease and we rejoice in the life she lived so vibrantly.

Shirley was born on December 24, 1939, in Carlton, TX, to Rodney Owen Mason and Mary Nadine (McCarty) Mason, and grew up in a close, loving, Christian family, along with brothers Bob, Eddie, and John.

Playing the piano was one of her gifts. She played in multiple recitals, was a state competition winner for 2 years, and was offered a scholarship for piano to The Juilliard School in New York City, which she turned down because she wanted to marry Lonnie. She loved to sing, was a member of the choir and special performance groups, performing both competitively and for special events. Shirley was the Salutatorian of the Phillips Blackhawks' Class of 1958.

Shirley wrote a short summary of her courtship with Lonnie Jameson. She wrote, "I started going with Lonnie on a Tuesday night after the Phillips Fair (August 1-3) in the year of 1955, I met him the first time on a train going down to Lubbock for a football game in the year of 54-55. [At that first meeting, she told her best friend that she was going to marry him.] I started going steady with him on Sunday, October 16, 1955 at 10:45 AM in Dallas on Loop 12 going east. We became engaged at 11:35 PM, December 23, 1956 in Lonnie's living room at 8 South Lemp." On July 11, 1958, Lonnie and Shirley married in the chapel on the Texas A&M College campus. Shirley was baptized into Christ on September 25, 1958, and lived her entire life, devoted to Christ and His Word.

Once her children were in school, Shirley went back to college, earned her Bachelor's degree, and taught both 1st and 3rd Grades at Davy Crockett Elementary in Borger. A few years later, she earned her Master of Education Administration. She became Principal of Gateway Elementary in 1985, where she remained until retiring in 1999. Shirley loved her students and staff and relished her time in education.

During her time in Borger, she taught Bible Class for 27 consecutive years at Johnson Park Church of Christ, was involved in the Adelante Club, Texas Parent and Teacher Association (PTA), Borger Classroom Teachers Association(BCTA), Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association (TEPSA), and was one of the first women members inducted into the Rotary Club of Borger. She received many awards and recognitions for her service to the community, students, and schools of Borger, TX.

If you ask her children, Rodney, Brent, and Angela, she was Wonder Woman, Betty Crocker, and Suzy Homemaker, all rolled into one. She was the very best person you would ever wish to meet---always loving, always kind, always supportive of our choices and forgiving of the mistakes we undoubtedly made. She was the epitome of agape love in all she did. If you ask her husband, she was his world, his heart, his soul. Theirs was a true and everlasting love, made permanent by their shared love of God and Christ Jesus, and a real-life example of what love and faithfulness can accomplish in a marriage.

Shirley is survived by her husband, Lonnie, her children, Rodney (wife Darla, Shelby and Logan (Kori)), Brent (wife Leah, Tanner and Tayler (Ty)), and Angela (husband Eric Bierman, Jacob (Katy, Aaron, Levi), Jeffrey (Janell, Jeremy), Mason, and Michaela), her brothers, Eddie (Linda), and John, her sister-in-law Marlo Mason, numerous nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her parents, Rodney and Nadine Mason, and her brother Bob.

Visitation will be held in Brady, Texas on Sunday, April 4, from 6:00-7:00 PM at Sunset Ridge Church of Christ.

Visitation will be held in Borger on Tuesday, April 6, from 6:00-8:00 PM at Burgin Funeral Home.

Shirley's Memorial Service will be held on Wednesday, April 7, at 1:00 PM at the Church of Christ at Borger.

(Published by Burgin Funeral Home, Friday, April 2, 2021)