Graveside service for Shirley Jeans Vliet, age 76, of Huntsville, AL, formerly of Fayetteville, TN, will be held at 1:30 pm on Monday, February 17, 2025, at Riverview Memorial Gardens with Bro. Richard Hughes officiating. Visitation with the family will be from 11 am until 1 pm on Monday at Higgins.
Shirley passed away peacefully on February 10, 2025, at Huntsville Hospital. Born on December 3, 1948, in Lincoln County, TN, she was the daughter of the late Thomas Alexander Smith and Eleanor Katherine Markham Smith. Raised on a dairy farm in the Mulberry community, Shirley was a proud graduate of Central High School. She dedicated many years as a receptionist, serving with warmth and kindness at Coca-Cola, First Baptist Church, and later in a physician’s office. Shirley had a passion for life and a creative spirit. She found joy in gardening, sewing, and cross-stitching, and her artistic talent shone through in her beautiful paintings. She loved to travel, dance, and spend time with friends, always embracing life with a smile. A woman of faith, she attended Huntsville Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Above all, Shirley treasured her family, who meant the world to her. Her love, kindness, and vibrant spirit will be deeply missed but forever cherished by those who knew and loved her. You could always count on Shirley to be there with a smile.
Survivors include her husband, Karl Joseph “Joe” Vliet; son, Michael (Becca) Jeans; daughters, Michelle (Johnny) Campbell and Crystal (Lance) Sylvester; step-sons, Karl Vliet and Jacob Vliet; 15 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild; beloved sisters-in-law, Betty Carol Poole and Tina (Jackie) Arrington. In addition to her parents, Shirley was preceded in death by her first husband, Raymond Wayne Jeans; and her sister, Sherry Smith.
Memorial donations may be made to American Diabetes Association, P.O. Box 7023, Merrifield, VA 22116-7023.
Higgins Funeral Home is honored to serve the family of Shirley Jeans Vliet.