Miriam Juanita Shuping Small

Miriam Juanita Shuping Small, 89, born April 3, 1928, of Salisbury, passed away at home into her much-anticipated eternal rest on Tuesday, April 25, 2017. She was surrounded by family and special friends, continually for the last several weeks; she is now “absent from the body, present with the Lord”. She was the daughter of Carl E. and Marie Cress Shuping of the Ellis Cross Road community. She was educated in the Rowan County Schools and Catawba College and graduated from the Mecklenburg Comptometer (Computer) School in 1948. She lived in the Steele Creek Community in Charlotte while raising her young family and often taking in others as her own. She is survived by one brother, Winfred Cress Shuping of Salisbury; her children, Linda Small Gable (Tommy) of Matagalpa, Nicaragua and Angela Layton Hyden (Bill) of Fort Worth, Tex.; and 18 grandchildren. She will be remembered as a loving sister, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and by her foster sister “special” lifetime friend, Barbara Thomason of the Franklin community. Mrs. Small was an avid swimmer, a Certified Red Cross Water Safety Instructor, having taught for 50 years (at her home and in other family pools) hundreds of students, ranging from infants to older adults, professing to terrible fears of water. The family wishes to express sincere appreciation to the Franklin Presbyterian Church family, her beloved Bridge Club, her special friends and faithful extended family members for their loving care and assistance during her illness. She was preceded in death by her parents; a brother, Carl Lee “Buddy” Shuping; and her husband of 25 years, Merwyn C. “Bud” Small, formerly of the Steele Creek community in Charlotte. Services: Miriam was a member of Franklin Presbyterian Church where the funeral will be held on Thursday, April 27, 2017 at 12 p.m., conducted by Pastor John Elam. Final committal will be in the family plot at the Bethel Lutheran Church Cemetery. Memorials: In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Bethel Lutheran Church Cemetery Fund. Summersett Funeral Home is honored to be serving the Small family. Online condolences may be left for the family at www.summersettfuneralhome.com.