Shirley M. Nichols Malone, 94, of Amarillo went to be with Jesus September 12, 2024. She was born in Arkansas City, Kansas on August 16, 1930. Shirley married James Martin Malone in 1948, in Amarillo.
She was a homemaker, and loving mother. She enjoyed tending to her garden and working in her yard. Shirley loved scrapbooking and spent many hours going through family pictures and organizing them into wonderful books. One year she made a book for each of her six children from their birth to marriage.
She enjoyed hobbies that including sewing. Shirley enjoyed traveling with her family and making wonderful memories. She was in DAR and traveled around the Texas Panhandle, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Kansas helping them to clean markers and take pictures for those that requested them along with her daughter and a friend.
She was preceded in death by her husband James Martin Malone.
Shirley is survived by two daughters, Carol and Cindy; four sons, Mike, Paul, David and Jon; 12 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.
Graveside services will be held at 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, September 17, 2024, at Llano Cemetery. Services under the care of Lighthouse Funeral Home.
As a child, I remember when we would come to Amarillo to visit. I couldn’t wait to get to spend the night with my Aunt Shirley. We always sat outside in the evening, waiting for the ice cream man’s music. Then we’d run out and get some ice cream. Now as an adult, I saw her love for Jesus. She shared a comment with my dad during his last days, that gave me confidence that I would see him in heaven some day. I know she is with Jesus with a big smile on her face.
I first met Shirley when she came into my family’s garden store. She did love gardening! One hot, dry year I told her that I thought I’d give up my yard. She said, “You can’t do that because it’s for the enjoyment of everyone that passes by”. She was a joy. I know she is with Jesus.
Visiting the Malone house was always an adventure. At least once a year our family would stop by and there was always plenty of activity happening with countless kids which not only included plenty of cousins but neighborhood children roaming the house and yard. What happened after we left, I do not know; but while we were visiting, Aunt Shirley took it all in stride, never raising her voice, and managing the crowd, and making sure that everyone had more than enough to eat. As an adult, one Christmas she found out that I was going to be alone, so on Christmas Eve, she insisted that I come over for Christmas dinner the next day. As the family started to open presents, I was handed a gift with my name on it. I didn’t think there was time for someone to go to the store, so I always suspected that Aunt Shirley probably put my name on someone else’s gift just so that I wouldn’t feel left out while everyone else was opening their gifts.