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<div class="x1y1aw1k xn6708d xwib8y2 x1ye3gou"><font size="5">Obituary:
Shirley Jacob Stokes (Mrs. Cecil Stokes) </font>
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<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Shirley
Jacob Stokes was born on October 10, 1932 in
Decatur General Hospital to Ela Mae Simpson and
William Alfred Jacob. She was a member of the
final graduating class at Riverside High School in
Decatur. Only 16, she took a job at General Motors
Acceptance Corporation to work until age 18, the
required age to enter the nursing program at
Tulane University. The most significant thing
about her stay at GMAC was her friendship with a
co-worker who invited her to go on a date with her
fiancé and a friend, Cecil Stokes, whom she
married in 1963. They were happy together as long
as they both lived. He describes her as “the
perfect wife.” <br>
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<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">She
attended classes at UAH, earning a bachelor’s
degree in English. She then earned a MSW degree in
social work at the University of Alabama in
Tuscaloosa. She worked as a social worker for DHR
in various units including Child Support services,
Child Welfare and a Jobs program which included
benefits eligibility determination as well as
counseling for jobs and other support services.</div>
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<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Upon
retirement from the state she served Faith
Presbyterian Church as a Deacon, an Elder, and a
teacher on teams working with elementary age
children. She worked in church related volunteer
activities such as Meals on Wheels, Salvation Army
food service, Homeless relocation activity, and
various community programs for the elderly. She
served for a few years as church newsletter
editor, bringing it into the computer age and
giving it the lasting name “Voice of Faith.” She
volunteered for a couple of years as a docent at
the Museum of Art. She took the Master Gardener
course and volunteered at Huntsville Botanical
Garden for several years. She was a member of PEO
and served on the Landscaping and Sunshine
committees of the Magnolia Trace Residents
Association during her years in that retirement
community.</div>
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<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Survivors
include husband Cecil Stokes, brother-in-law Burt
Stokes (Sherry) of Bonita Springs, FL; nephews
Michael Jacobs (Andrea) of Columbia, MD; Patrick
Jacobs (Dora) of Rancho Cucamonga, CA; Lawrence
Stokes (Julie) of Greenville, SC; Tom Stokes
(Courtney) of Milwaukee, WI; and niece Jenni
Stokes of Huntersville, NC.</div>
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<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">After
spending 13 days in the hospital Shirley succumbed
to pneumonia on 27 July 2023 while her husband
held her hand and reminisced over their wonderful
years together. </div>
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<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">A
memorial service is planned for 11:00 a.m. on
Saturday, August 12, at Huntsville’s Faith
Presbyterian Church at 5003 Whitesburg Drive
(35802) followed by a reception in its Fellowship
Hall.</div>
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<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">================================</div>
<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Only the
last paragraph and a few other words have been
added to what Shirley wrote and filed in response
to the Covid-19 pandemic exactly three years
before the day she took her last breath.<br>
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