Shirley Ann Wenzel Massey, died Sunday, April 10, 2011.
She was born Aug. 8, 1934, in Bon Secour to Charles Augustus and Annie Laura Underwood Wenzel. The eldest of six children, she grew up in Bon Secour, where she attended Swift Primary School and Foley High School.
In 1951, at the age of 16, she graduated from Foley High as class valedictorian. In the early 1950s she began working at NAS Pensacola, where she met and later married Wilbur Emmanuel Massey of Pensacola. Following their marriage, she left work to become a full-time mother to their seven children. She eventually returned to work at NAS and retired from civil service in the early 1990s.
In retirement, she devoted much of her time to her children, grandchildren, and large extended family. She dedicated a great deal of time and financial support to various charitable organizations. She was most passionate about her Catholic faith, and the sacred respect for the sanctity of life, particularly the protection of the unborn.
She fought valiantly and suffered much with dignity and grace and without complaint. She was an amazing woman with a beautiful heart and a deep abiding faith in God. She will be greatly missed.
She was preceded in death by her parents; and her loving husband of 30 years, Wilbur.
Survivors include three sisters, Mary Beth Howell, Carol (Hugh) Branyon and Barbara Cain; two brothers, Robert (Terri) Wenzel and Charles (Judy) Wenzell; six sons, Michael (Rita) Massey, Joseph (Cheryl) Massey, Stephen (Patti) Massey, Mark (Marie) Massey, Christopher Massey and John Massey; daughter, Carol (Geordie) Wheeler; 10 grandchildren, Joseph, Kristi, Hannah, Lauren, Jessica, and Katie Massey; Kari Massey (Chris) Graham; Christopher and Ryan Wheeler; great-grandson, Luke Graham, step-grandson, Jason Sugarman; a host of beloved nieces, nephews, cousins, and other relatives.
The family wishes to express sincere and deepest gratitude to the nursing staff of the St. Catherine’s ward at Sacred Heart Hospital, the Sacred Heart Cancer Center, and to Deacon Don Krehley of St. Anne’s – Bellview; and to Covenant Hospice personnel for providing remarkable, tender, and compassionate end-of-life care … such a noble and precious gift to our community.
Visitation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. with recitation of the rosary at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 12 at Faith Chapel North Funeral Home, Cantonment, Fla. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 13 at St. Anne’s Catholic Church in the Bellview community of Pensacola with Father John Licari as main celebrant. Interment will follow at Pensacola Memorial Gardens. A reception will follow at St. Anne’s Family Life Center.
The family requests memorial donations be made to Covenant Hospice, 5041 N. 12th Ave., Pensacola, FL 32504.
Arrangements are by Faith Chapel Funeral Home North, Cantonment, Fla.
