Shirley Ann Spivey Blalock

Shirley Ann Spivey Blalock, 75, of Vestavia Hills, Alabama, passed away
peacefully at home on the morning of September 18, 2025, following a
nearly year-long battle with brain cancer. Her daughter Meghan Cori
Blalock and son-in-common-law Joel Andrew Carreon Manalo were right
by her side as she transitioned, while she was surrounded by her favorite
flowers, the music she loved most, and treasured reminders of beloved
family, friends, and pets.
Born on December 20, 1949, in Akron, Ohio, Shirley and family
eventually relocated to Smyrna, Georgia, where she grew up one of three
daughters to Warren Gamaliel and Ida Mae Spivey (née Tarr), along with
her elder sister Lois Evelyn and younger sister Terry Lynn. She attended
R.L. Osborne High School in Marietta, Georgia, followed by college at
David Lipscomb College in Nashville, Tennessee.
Following college she worked in the Engineering department at Atlanta's
Southern Bell/Western Electric Telephone Co. throughout the 1960s and
'70s. It was there she met her late husband, Major General Abner Coy
(AC) Blalock, Jr., who she married in the summer of 1978 in Alpharetta,
Georgia. In 1979 they relocated to Birmingham, Alabama, where they
bought the house they called home for the more than 44 years they were
married.
Shirley and AC had one child, Meghan Cori Blalock, who grew up in
Birmingham before attending college at the University of Mississippi,
relocating to New York, New York to work in journalism, and eventually
settling in Los Angeles, California with her partner Joel and their large
crew of cats both domestic and stray.
A huge animal lover, Shirley got so much joy from getting to know
Meghan and Joel's cats, watching hummingbirds feed and flit through her
giant picture windows at home, and donating selflessly to a myriad of
animal rights organizations all over the world. She was also a beloved cat
mama to Rascal-the family's first feline when Meghan was a small
child-and later Queenie and Gracie, all of whom she mothered dearly
and who loved her in kind. Most recently, she enjoyed caring for two
community cats she dubbed Goldie and Halo II-named after one of her
grandcats-both of whom made an uncharacteristic 4am visit to her home
the morning of her passing, as if to say thank you and bid her farewell.
Shirley also loved to garden and was an extremely voracious reader; her
home in Birmingham is lined wall-to-wall with the books she read over
the decades, most of them hardback as was her preference. She was a
huge history buff with a bottomless appetite for historical documentaries
and tomes. With AC, Meghan, and Joel, Shirley also enjoyed many a
meal out, and rarely met a plate of raw oysters she didn't love. Known for
her fearless independence and strong convictions, she will be profoundly
missed by many.
Shirley will be laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery alongside her
late husband AC, who preceded her in death. Memorial services will be
announced at a later date, likely to take place around her birthday and
Christmas of this year. She is survived by her daughter, Meghan, and sonin-common-law Joel; her two sisters Lois Holder and Terry Love; her
nieces Sonja Howard and Mandy Walden; and numerous great-nieces and
nephews.
In lieu of flowers, the family graciously encourages donations to Los
Angeles-based cat rescue nonprofit Kitty Bungalow-an organization
close to the hearts of Shirley, Meghan, and Joel-or any animal rights
organization of your choosing. Thank you.