Shirley Hursey

URBANA - Shirley L. Hursey, 89, of Urbana, departed her earthly life Friday, Sept. 19, 2025, at Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana. 

Shirley was born July 6, 1936, in Mound City, the sixth and last child of the union between Leslie Wince and Mary Agnes (Lindsey) Treadwell.

Shirley attended Mound City schools as a child, graduating from Lovejoy High School in 1954. She attended Illinois State University in Normal until 1955, when she met Paul S. Hursey, of Urbana. They were married Aug. 21, 1955. This union produced two children, Paul S. Hursey Jr. (aka Corky) and Shirese E. Hursey. They were divorced in 1991.

Shirley worked as a telephone operator for Illinois Bell and Chanute Air Force Base. She also worked for and was co-owner of Lincoln Press Bookbindery in Urbana. She successfully ran that business, selling it in 1978 to her employee, Christopher Hohn. In 1979, Shirley took a job with the Construction Engineering Research Lab (CERL) in Champaign in the position of procurement secretary. She retired from CERL 2003 as the division secretary for the Energy Systems Division.

In 1966, she and her husband, along with four others in Ellis Subdivision, organized and strategized the integration of the Urbana primary schools due to the substandard curriculum materials given to the Black students who attended J.W. Hayes (presently Dr. Martin Luther King) Elementary School. In later years, they became known as the Ellis Drive Six. She supported and assisted in the election of her husband to be the first Black person elected on to the Urbana City Council, as well as the first to run for mayor. She served on the Human Relations Commission from 1993 to 2001. She also ran for mayor of Urbana in 2004. Shirley was also a member of the NAACP, and the League of Women Voters for several years.

Shirley became a member of Bethel AME Church, Champaign, in 1955. As a member of Bethel AME Church, she was very active. She sang in the senior choir, and displayed a deep dedication to the youth in the church, starting as a Sunday school teacher. In 1962, she organized and directed the Bethel AME Young Adult Choir. She conducted this choir for several years, mentoring the youth in the church, as well as the community. In 1970, under her mentorship, the choir produced an album titled "My Faith". That album was recorded in the sanctuary of Bethel AME Church.

Shirley was preceded in death by her parents, Leslie and Mary Agnes Treadwell (Mound City); stepfather, Robert L. Woodring (Mound City); brothers, Thomas Treadwell (Mound City), Leslie Treadwell Jr. (Chicago) and Donald Treadwell (Austin, Texas); half brother, Alonzo Woodring (San Antonio); stepbrothers, Robert Woodring, Jr. (Muncie, Ind.) and Thomas Woodring (Mound City); sisters, Martha Rose Battle (Cairo) and Lela Malone (Mound City); and stepsister, Mary Helen Woodring Claypool (Mound City).

Funeral services for Shirley will be 11 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 8, at Bethel AME Church, 401 E. Park St., Champaign, officiated by K. Edward Copeland of New Zion Missionary Baptist Church, Rockford. Entombment will be in Mt. Hope Mausoleum, Champaign. Visitation will be Tuesday, Oct. 7, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Renner-Wikoff Chapel & Crematory, 1900 Philo Road, Urbana, and 10 a.m. prior services at Bethel AME.

Condolences may be offered at renner-wikoffchapel.com.