Shirley Ann MacNealy

Shirley Ann (Adams) MacNealy, 86, has gone to be with the Lord and her husband, who preceded her in death 16 days earlier. Shirley was born January 4, 1931 in Ashland, Wisconsin and died November 22, 2017 in Madison, Mississippi. As a young girl, Shirley was raised mostly on her family’s farm on 15 Mile Road, south of Sault Ste Marie, MI. She began her education in a one-room school and eventually graduated from Pickford High School. She went on to Northern Michigan University where she earned her degree in education, her life-long passion. While at Northern, she met and fell in love with Richard Kenneth (Dick) MacNealy, a WWII combat veteran and they married in 1952. Dick was also an educator, and after their marriage, they taught at schools in Bellevue, OH and then in Cheboygan, MI, where their two oldest sons were born. In 1960, they accepted positions with the Department of Defense School System in Japan where Shirley’s youngest son was born. In 1962, Shirley and Dick accepted education related positions in Mississippi. Shirley loved educating children so she became a school Principal. In 1977 she was elected President of the Mississippi Elementary Schools Association, a position which offered her the opportunity to travel throughout the state and country to learn and observe best education practices. During this time, she earned her Master’s Degree and Specialist certificate. Her efforts to achieve excellence in education earned national recognition when the US Department of Education selected her school, Van Winkle Elementary School in Jackson, MS, as the only elementary or middle school in Mississippi during the 1987-1988 school year as a “Model of Excellence”. As a result, she was recognized by the Governor and Legislature of Mississippi and was honored during ceremonies in Washington, DC where she received the award from Secretary of Education Bill Bennett and met President Ronald Reagan. In 1989, Shirley and Dick retired and moved to Bradenton, FL, and in 2005 to Brandon, MS. Shirley and Richard, her husband of 65 years, spent many years traveling around the US in their motor home. They enjoyed square and round dancing wherever they travelled, and they especially enjoyed the summers they spent with Shirley’s sisters and brother-in-law, Betty Lipsett and Marilyn and Chuck Crawford, all of Cedarville, MI. Shirley attended First Union Church whenever she was in Cedarville. She is preceded in death by her parents, dredge Captain George Ernest Edward Adams and Meretta Margaret (Lackey) Adams and the love of her life, Richard who died on November 6th, 2017. Shirley is survived by her three sons, all retired Army pilots and their spouses: Colonel Richard (Rem) MacNealy and Ginger of Huntsville, AL; Colonel Bradly MacNealy and Duncan of Inverness, MS; and Brigadier General Kelly MacNealy and Libby of Madison, MS. She is also survived by her grandchildren Sergeant First Class Bradly Jr. and his wife Leah of Inverness, MS; Brittany and her husband Robert Gonzales of St John, US Virgin Islands; Rachel Wesson and her husband Taylor, DC of Huntsville, AL; and Nathan of Madison, MS. Shirley was also able to see her two great grandchildren before she passed, Haddie Mac Wesson and Robert J. Gonzales lll. Visitation will be at the R. Galer Funeral Home in Pickford on Sunday, December 3rd from 1:30 to 2:00 followed by a memorial service. Mrs. MacNealy will be interred together with her husband at Oaklawn Chapel Gardens, near the farm where she grew up. In lieu of flowers, Shirley’s family requests donations be made to Alzheimer’s Mississippi, 855 S. Pear Orchard Road, Suite 501, Ridgeland, MS 39157.

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Shirley Ann MacNealy

January 4, 1931 - November 22, 2017