Shirley O. Hellum

Shirley Bee Owens was born on May 3, 1930 in Sebring, Florida to John and Lillie Owens. She graduated from E.O. Douglas High School. She often reflected back on her days there playing on the girls’ basketball team. In 1952 She married the love of her life, Jesse Hellum.  This marital bond kept going strong until his death in 2005. Over the course of her life Shirley primarily worked in the hospitality industry. Her line of work led her to travel up and down the east coast from Mountain Lake Colony House in Lake Wales Florida to Maryland, where they lived for 10 years, all the way north to the Catskill Mountains in New York.  She enjoyed these years and spoke of them often. When she retired from the hospitality industry she worked part-time caring for the elderly in their homes.  Shirley was a Christian and she had a strong faith in God.  She was a member of Mt. Zion AME Church for most of her adult life and she participated on the Pulpit Aid Board at one time. Her hobbies were fishing, collecting ceramic frogs and playing cards.  Another World and Days of Our Lives were her favorite soap operas and hardly a day went by that she didn’t watch The Price is Right.  Shirley was also proud to be a breast cancer survivor. Shirley never had any biological children but in 1977 she became a stand-in mother for her great niece after her mother’s death. Shirley accepted this responsibility showing love, compassion and steadfast dedication. God called Shirley home on the morning of August 22, 2020 in Winter Haven, Florida.  Her survivors include her daughter Valerie Jones (Mr. Bobby Jones), two granddaughters Jazmine Hairston, Amanda Neal (Mr. Michael Neal), three great-grandchildren (Michael, Jiselle, Naomi), one sister Thedoshia Watson, and a host of nieces and nephews.

Arrangements entrusted to:

Stephenson-Nelson Funeral Home

4001 Sebring Parkway

Sebring, FL 33870

Online condolences may be left at:

www.stephensonnelsonfh.com