Shirley Elaine Hamrick Kessler, age 65, of Belpre, Ohio, went to be with the Lord Thursday, March 27, 2014, after a valiant struggle with ovarian cancer.
Born October 14, 1948, in Webster Springs, she was a daughter of the Marvin and Della Helmick Hamrick.
Shirley was a 1966 graduate of Webster Springs High School and was a teacher’s aide at Bergoo Elementary School and secretary for Pocahontas Memorial Hospital. She worked as a detachment secretary, office assistant and driver examiner for 36 1/2 years for the West Virginia State Police in Marlinton, Parkersburg and St. Mary’s, retiring August of 2005. She attended Belpre Congregational Church, loved camping, motorcycling, WVU sports and NASCAR races.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a sister, Nancy Lough; niece Jessica Shingleton; and nephew, Darrell Tuner.
She is survived by her husband of 47 1/2 years, Clifford Kessler; faithful pets, Odie and Buttons; a sister, Jackie Mattingly, and husband, Bobby, and nephew, Tommy Hazelett, all of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; a brother, Johnny Hamrick, and wife, Linda Irene, of Pulaski, Virginia, their children, Annette Briggs and Logan Hamrick; brother-in-law, George Lough, of Mt. Clare, and his children, Theresa Turner, Melissa Starkey and Monica Myers; Uncle Freeman Hamrick, and wife, Virginia, of Chesapeake, Virginia; Aunt Goldie Helmick, of Zanesville, Ohio; many great-nieces and great-nephews; and a host of neighbors and friends.
A service to celebrate Shirley’s life was held March 30 at the Belpre Congregational Church with Pastor Jeff Atwater. A celebration of Shirley’s life was held March 31 at Dodd and Reed Funeral Home in Webster Springs with Pastor Tom Kessler and Rev. Bennie Cowger officiating. Interment was in Meadowland Cemetery in Bergoo.