Shirley F. Appleby (Bolivar)'s Obituary
Shirley Faye (Brooks) Appleby, 85, passed away surrounded by family on May 1, 2024 at Lake Stockton Healthcare Facility where she received impeccable care from December 2023 to present.
Shirley was born in Polk, MO on February 27, 1939, to Lawrence and Elsie (Whitney) Brooks. She loved to share favorite memories of her childhood. One fond memory was riding her horse, Flicka. They were the best of friends. She rode bareback, braided her tail, and liked to slide off the back of the horse. Another favorite memory was when her father, who owned the buses that serviced the Bolivar schools, fixed up a bus and used it as a home while traveling across the country to California. Shirley thought it was a very fun adventure!
She was saved as a young girl and enjoyed attending services at Pleasant View Missionary Baptist Church. She joined the church and was baptized in 2004.
She attended Bolivar schools where she met her high school sweetheart and the love of her life, Richard Appleby. They were married on October 12, 1955. Soon after they moved to Springfield MO, then to Louisiana, and then to Kansas City. Each move brought new adventures and even more fond memories. In 1970, Shirley and Richard moved back to Bolivar to raise their family out in the country on a farm. Living on the farm, fishing in the pond, tending to their cows, horses, dogs, and chickens while also raising their children became their greatest adventure.
Shirley worked hard as a stay-at-home mom and was by Richard's side in farming and rental property endeavors. She had many hobbies that included oil painting, gardening, boating, fishing, camping, and riding Foxtrotting horses. She loved her family unconditionally and they all benefited from her love. Her powerful nurturing way was natural. She was full of compassion and kindness, yet also stubborn and tenacious at times. She was a precious mother and “Mammaw” and will be sorely missed by all. She was the most beautiful soul inside and out. To know Shirley was to love her and she will be remembered for the gem she truly was.
Shirley was preceded in death by her husband, Richard, parents, Lawrence and Elsie Brooks, brother Joel Brooks, niece Linda Brooks and grandson, Justin Fulbright. Shirley is survived by her children Jolene Fulbright and husband Gary, Joe Appleby and wife Sandy, Jim Appleby, Janelle Payne and husband Mark, and Jennifer Follis; her grandchildren Sarah Stevens and husband Scotty, Mariah Samek and husband Eli, Kristy and Kyle Appleby, Natalie Payne, Brayden Payne and wife Brittanie, Sherry and Kurt Appleby, Jacey, Jackson, and Jed Follis; great-grandchildren Lillian and Fisher Stevens, Brooks and Anderson Samek, Brody and Baker Payne, Arianna, Alixandria, and Donovan Chaudry, and Morgan and Carter Jech; nephews and niece Jeff, Kevin, Jerry, Greg and Jamie and Sam, and brother-in-law Randy Appleby and wife Marcia.
Funeral services for Shirley will be held on Saturday, May 4, 2024, at Butler Funeral Home in Bolivar. A visitation will commence one hour prior to service at 10:00 am with the funeral service at 11:00 am. Interment will follow at Mt. View Cemetery in Polk, Missouri. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in memory of her grandson, Justin Fulbright.
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