Shirley married Jack Sparks in Wabash, Indiana on June 25, 1961. She worked for General Tire in Marion and Wabash Magnetics in Wabash. Shirley was a member of the Wabash Free Will Baptist Church. She enjoyed quilting, golfing, cooking, and eating. Shirley was a giving person who loved people.
She is survived by her husband, Jack Sparks of Wabash; three children, John Carl (Vanessa) Sparks of Warsaw, Indiana, Jacqueline (Ted) Brown of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and James E. (Maureen) Sparks of Wabash; five grandchildren, Ashley N. Sparks of Warsaw, Andrew O. (Alexis) Sparks of Akron, Indiana, Brandon A. Brown of Fort Wayne, Daisy W. Sparks of Wabash, and Duke Harmon Sparks of Wabash; two great grandchildren Addyson Grace Brown of Fort Wayne, and Willow Grace Sparks of Akron, two brothers, William M. (Barbara) Staggs of Roann, Indiana, and Robert E. (Iva) Staggs of Haines City, Florida; and four sisters, Helen West of Jamestown, Ohio, Clara R. (Chester) King of Wabash, Edith I. (Linzy) Johns and Peggy J. (Kevin) Cordes, both of Roann. She was preceded in death by her parents, her daughter, Justina W. Sparks, her brother, Ervin Staggs, and her sister, Virginia Dials.
Funeral services will be 11:00 a.m. Thursday, February 14, 2019 at Wabash Free Will Baptist Church, 1056 Erie Street, Wabash, with Jimmy Price and Pastor Tod Masters officiating. Burial will be in Gardens of Memory Cemetery, Marion. Friends may call 2-8 p.m. Wednesday, at the Wabash Free Will Baptist Church. Arrangements by Grandstaff-Hentgen Funeral Service, Wabash.
Preferred memorial is Wabash Free Will Baptist Church.
The memorial guest book for Shirley may be signed at www.grandstaff-hentgen.com.