Shirley Shatswell

Services for Shirley Ann Shatswell, 70, of Ada are 10:00 a.m. Monday, August 5, 2024 at Criswell Funeral Home Chapel. Burial will follow at Oakman Cemetery. The family will receive friends and family from 6:00-8:00 p.m. on Sunday.
Shirley was born June 16, 1954 in Ft. Worth, TX to Leonard and Amy Jo Shields Hixon.
Survivors include her son, Christopher "Bo" Tomlinson and wife, Sara of Ada; two daughters, Carolyn Callies and husband Cavis of Oklahoma City and Christina Foster and Wesley Coats of Lansing, Michigan; 10 grandchildren; and four great grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, John Shatswell; granddaughter, Alannah Shirley Callies; sister, Sue Frazier; and brother, Marvin Lee Ward.
Shirley Ann Shatswell was able to have her wishes fulfilled to pass away peacefully in her own home surrounded by her family and a lot of love in her last days. She passed from this earth at 6:32 am on Wednesday July 31st, 2024, and greeted immediately into eternity by her loved ones who had gone on before her. In her last days, she was excited to see her "Flotch", her husband, John Shatswell, who had passed away in 2018 and her eldest granddaughter, Alannah Shirley Callies, who passed away in 2021. Carolyn, her eldest daughter, told her to get ready because Alannah was probably going to take her Granny on some roller coaster rides up there in heaven soon after she gets there. She smiled and said she was ready.
Shirley was known for her spunky personality and the many things that were unique to her alone. She was the sweetest lady you'd ever meet at a garage sale, diner or store checkout...but if you talked too much or did something she didn't like, she'd be likely to let you know it before walking away. This personality was what earned her the nickname of "Gangster Granny" from her kids and grandkids. Granny was sweet, caring, and generous with the few dollars she'd have tucked into a sock, shoe, or some hidden little nook. She would cook you up some mean fried taters, fried chicken or spaghetti to make sure you didn't go hungry. But if you stepped out of line, she could and would run anybody off if she had to and she reminded us of that right up to the very end. This spunk is going to be what her family misses the most about her and has supplied us with a lot of fun stories to share both with her and around her in the last days we have had with her.
When asked about some of the things she wanted to share about her life, she wanted us to know that she loved her babies, grandbabies and great-grandbabies, and she loved her Lord and He was her everything. On her last Friday evening with us, she praised Jesus for His faithfulness in her life and thanked Him for all He'd done for her, while talking about how excited she was to see John and Alannah.
But before she ever became a mom or grandma, she graduated in Pryor Oklahoma in 1972 and had many fond memories of that time in her life. She participated in Girls State in 1971 and enjoyed learning about government and sang Bing Crosby's "Swinging On A Star" while attending that week's activities. During her junior and senior years, she learned about and worked in Cosmetology, using the money she earned to buy her "uptown" clothes, as she quoted them to be. She took an hour in the mornings to do her hair and makeup for school because she couldn't let a hair out of place.
She had been baptized at age 12 and was happy to tell us that the preacher from the church she attended came to pick her up personally every week for the Sunday service. Another favorite Sunday activity of hers was playing football with a friend of hers named Mike. He was a football player who was rough on her, but she said she liked it. It seemed to prepare her for being able to handle a fall and bounce right back up in her later years while playing ball with her grandkids.
She also learned how to sew in her junior year. This was a talent she used all her life, sewing things like potholders, pajamas, clothes and blankets for her loved ones. Receiving one of her patchwork blankets meant you would be blessed with some carefully crafted and well-made warmth. It might just take a while for you to get it, because she would pick out different material that she thought you might like, and she would talk to you about its work in progress in the meantime. Her blankets were so beloved that one of her grandsons even took his Spiderman blanket on dates at times. She loved going through her material, washing it, folding it and storing it all throughout her house.
Shirley worked in home health most of her life until she retired. She loved working for her patients and a lot of times was sent to take care of the sickest ones, always growing attached to them.
She told us the story of how she met her husband, John Shatswell. When she met him at a bar, he told her he was going through a divorce. When he asked for her phone number, she thought, " He's nice looking enough, I can listen to his stories." They were married in Gainesville, Texas on August 17, 1989 and gave each other a life filled with an adventure only they could enjoy.
Some of Shirley's hobbies included working puzzles, sewing, cutting up with her friends and family. She loved listening and dancing to music, especially to Elvis. She told us her favorite song to dance to was The Twist by Chubby Checker. Of all of her past times, we believe that her most favorite was jacking all of our jaws.
Bearers are Isaiah Callies, Zach Callies, Damon Foster, Daxton Foster, Harley Tomlinson, and Dylan Redbird.