01/05/2026
Shirley Stone Bussey returned to her heavenly home on January 1, 2026.
On March 13, 1930, Lucius and Lena Mae Stone Johnson welcomed their firstborn, Shirley Faye. They could not have imagined she would one day outlive all five of her younger siblings - Sally, Billy Joe, Blanche, Mary Joyce and Bobbie.
Growing up during the Depression, Shirley knew the reality of doing without. With her father in poor health, she carried heavy responsibilities from an early age. Those years - working in the fields, helping her mother, living in homes without electricity or plumbing, and carrying the weight of being the eldest - instilled in her the resilience and work ethic that defined her life.
In 1948, Shirley married Carl “Rooster” Stone and together they raised three daughters” Janice, Patsy, and Linda. As a farmer’s wife, until Rooster’s passing in 1986, Shirley’s days began before dawn, building fires, preparing hot breakfasts, and caring tirelessly for her family. She milked cows, canned vegetables, worked hog killings, chased cows on Saturday mornings, sewed hundreds of dresses, and kept an immaculate home. She stayed up through the night when her girls were sick, embodying selfless devotion.
Shirley also worked outside the home - first for nine years as a floor supervisor at Warner’s in Marianna, and later as a secretary with the Calhoun County Extension Office, where she remained until retirement.
Her faith was the cornerstone of her life. Each night she studied her Sunday School lessons, and after retirement, she spent hours daily in scripture, filling notepads with her reflections. Saturdays were for preparing Sunday dresses, shampooing hair, and readying meals for the traditional Sunday dinner. Though small in stature, she carried a strong, beautiful soprano voice that filled choirs, weddings, and church halls.
In 1995, Shirley married Benjamin Bussey. Together, they shared a deep love of church life, singing in the First Baptist Church of Blountstown choir until his passing in 2013.
Shirley’s greatest joy was her family. Though she outlived two husbands, her youngest daughter Linda, and granddaughter Sandra, her love endured through her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchild and nieces and nephews. She was blessed with two grandsons, Cliff and John, and three granddaughters - Brooksanne, Sandra, and Carla who together gave her sixteen great grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren. To all of them, she was a steady source of love, support, and faith, always encouraging them to seek a personal relationship with God.
For a woman who carried so much from such a young age, Shirley lived her life with quiet strength, devotion, and grace. Her legacy will live on in the lives she touched and the family she so dearly loved.
Funeral services will be Wednesday, January 7, 2026, at the First Baptist Church of Blountstown. Visitation will be at 10:00 AM CT and the service at 11:00 AM CT. Interment will follow at Macedonia Cemetery. Peavy Funeral Home is overseeing arrangements.
