Michael Lowell "Mickey" Shirley

A memorial service honoring the life of Michael Lowell "Mickey" Shirley will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, February 10, 2020, at Noel Memorial United Methodist Church, 520 Herndon Street, Shreveport, Louisiana. Officiating will be Reverend Mimi McDowell and Reverend Richard Humphries. Mickey was born January 6, 1939, in Shreveport, Louisiana to parents Lawrence Albert Shirley and Edna Arlene Myers and passed away Friday, February 7, 2020. Mickey was a man who loved people. He loved connecting with people, encouraging people and helping people. As a businessman, he had a varied and interesting career that included journalism, marketing, life insurance and financial planning. The career endeavors he loved the most were those in which he was helping people. Mickey was active in the Shreveport community he dearly loved, including Shreveport Jaycees, Holiday-in-Dixie, Goodwill Industries, and countless other non-profit organizations. A man of deep Christian faith, he also believed that all faiths had a unique path to God and that absolutely no one was left out of God's grace and unconditional love. He served his church, Noel Memorial United Methodist Church, faithfully for many years in many leadership capacities. Most notably, he was the president of the Upper Room Sunday School class and a beloved Sunday School teacher at Noel and was a frequent guest teacher for the Seekers class at First United Methodist Church Shreveport. Music was a huge part of Mickey's life. He loved singing hymns at church and knew every word to any Broadway musical. At musical performances, he was always the first one to jump to his feet in applause. Above all, Mickey excelled at being a brother, an uncle, a husband, a father, a grandfather and a friend. He and Gay loved traveling the world together. She was the love of his life. His family and friends felt his unconditional love deeply and witnessed his absolute joy in living life to its fullest. He made us laugh with his sharp wit, and he never failed to be there when we needed him. Mickey was a man of incredible faith, humor, love, service, encouragement and joy. He left this world standing in a better place because of his beautiful life. He is preceded in death by his parents and his brothers, Lawrence Albert "Larry" Shirley, Jr., Robert Arlen "Bob" Shirley and Richard Hoyt "Skippy" Shirley. Left to cherish his memory are his loving wife of 54 years, Gay Watson Shirley; daughters, Erin Shirley Cannon and husband, John, of Lafayette, LA and Sarah Shirley Pullani and husband, Arun, of Atlanta, GA; beloved grandchildren, Michael, David, Elizabeth and Mary Claire Cannon; sisters-in-law, Tommie Watson Heenan, Peggy Shirley, Alice Shirley Singer and Geraldine Shirley and numerous well-loved nieces and nephews who will miss their Uncle Mickey and his keen sense of humor. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials may be made to Goodwill Industries of North Louisiana, 800 West 70^th Street, Shreveport, Louisiana 71106 or Noel Memorial United Methodist Church, 520 Herndon Street, Shreveport, LA 71101.