Shirley Belle Yarbrough

Shirley Belle Yarbrough, 75, of Jacksonville, Florida, with her family by her side, joined the angels of Heaven and passed into her eternal home on the afternoon of October 6^th, 2021, in St. Marys, Georgia.

Our Mother was a loving soul who would give more than she would do for herself. She loved her family without question, loving her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren more than words can express. She was a Christian woman who proudly shared her spirituality and love for Jesus with her family. Through any difficult moments in life, Mom knew God would see her through.

Mom showed love, compassion, and above all strength throughout her life and until the very end. Mom courageously fought a three year battle with colon cancer, and no matter how her day was, she was not one for complaining and wanted to know how you were doing instead. Shirley Belle, you were an amazing woman, mother, and grandmother, and you are greatly missed.

Shirley spent the majority of her career in banking, having started at Atlantic Bank (known there as Shirley Shepard and Shirley Powell) and retired from First Union National Bank and later again at Chase Mortgage. After retirement, and not one to sit idle, Mom enjoyed traveling, spending time with her family, and working part-time. Shirley’s smile would light up a room, and she was quite a beauty as well. She loved America, music, was a good singer, artist, and especially loved to dance – this woman could “cut a rug”, and rocking & rolling was her favorite. She danced in competitions with her brother as a teenager. She loved to dance to beach music, and enjoyed dancing for many years with partners, husbands, family, and friends. Shirley loved the beach and mountains, she walked for exercise anywhere her feet would take her, and just loved being in nature. She was a member of the American Legion Auxiliary Post 283 for many years.

Shirley Belle was born on July 9, 1946, in Tifton, Georgia, along with her twin brother, Jerry. Having five brothers, she was the only daughter to Margaret Esther Rowan Yarbrough and Carl E. Yarbrough. Her family moved to Jacksonville when she was a young child, and Shirley spent time growing up on the Northside, Southside, and Arlington. She attended Andrew Jackson High School.

Welcoming Shirley through heaven’s gates are her twin daughters, Shirley-Jean and Bobbie-Jean, who passed as newborns in 1967, her beloved brothers Charles and Richard “Rik” Yarbrough, her mother and father, and her best-friend, Buddy, who crossed the rainbow bridge a few years ago.

Missing her dearly are her children: Sheila (Philip) Cross, Gail (Miguel) Morales, Bobby (Andrea) Shepard, and Matthew Brian (Amber) Powell, along with her grandchildren: Justin (Melinda), Brittany, Joshua, Jordan, Leonard, Jonathan, Desiree, and Tiffany, and her great-grandchildren: Nicole and Leo. Shirley also leaves her brothers Carl (Mary) Yarbrough, Jim (Gina) Yarbrough, and twin brother Jerry (Donna) Yarbrough, and many special nieces and nephews, cousins, extended family members, friends, and her little companion, Mattie, misses her, too.

John 3:16

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Interment will be held in the chapel at Evergreen Cemetery, 4535 North Main Street Jacksonville, FL. Officiating will be Chaplain Tony Parker.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital or your local Animal Humane Society.