Shirley Mcnew Willhite

Shirley McNew Willhite, age 86, passed away peacefully and surrounded by her immediate family on Tuesday, December 26, 2023 in Martin, Tennessee.   A Celebration of Life will take place at 11:00 AM CST on Saturday, December 30 at the Martin Church of Christ with visitation beginning at 9:30 AM CST.  Burial will be at East Side Cemetery on K Street in Martin.  A livestream of the service will be available on YouTube and Facebook platforms of the Martin Church of Christ found here:  https://youtube.com/@martinchurchofchrist?si=z6e32AD74cJ94zJl  or  https://www.facebook.com/martinchurchofchrist?mibextid=ZbWKwL

Shirley Willhite was born the second of seven children on November 25, 1937 in the east Tennessee coal mining community of Fork Ridge.   She was raised on a tobacco farm and quickly learned that the field was not her favorite place to be.  Thus, by the age of 11, she had taken charge of the household chores to avoid “life in the field”.   Ironically, she later met and married a farmer, Joe Willhite of Martin, Tennessee, after which  her days would always include some aspect of “life on the farm”.  

According to her siblings, and although she wasn’t the oldest of the children, Shirley took charge of the family while her parents traveled daily to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, enriching uranium for the (unbeknownst to them at the time) World War II top secret atomic weapons Manhattan Project.  

Shirley was valedictorian of her high school class and the first among her siblings to attend college.  Her educational path culminated in a master’s degree in business, and included studying at Berea College, Freed Hardeman University, Harding University, and the University of Tennessee Knoxville.    After stints of working to put herself through school--as a secretary in Nashville while living with her sister Margie, and teaching at a high school in Delaware, she settled in West Tennessee and spent 31 years as a Professor in the School of Business at the University of Tennessee Martin.   She was known for professionalism, excellence in teaching, and her infamous red pen. 

Shirley loved to teach, sing, read, and study the Bible in depth.  She was an active member of the Martin Church of Christ for over 50 years, and enjoyed serving and teaching ladies Bible classes and, after retirement, gathering with other women for weekly Bible study groups.  For years, she sang alto in a barbershop quartet, reading shaped notes with ease as she was taught to do as a child.   Her cooking was well known in the community as top-notch.   She maintained her skill of shorthand (which she also taught at UTM) by capturing decades worth of sermons later transcribing this “secret” language into typed text.  She also kept a daily diary for as long as her family can remember.  And she made no secret that she was a diehard University of Tennessee fan, no matter what the sport.   Aside from her hobbies and spiritual gifts, she also demonstrated an unwavering love for her beloved husband Joe, her children, her four grandchildren, her extended family, and her siblings.   Every week for over fifty years, she unfailingly wrote a much-anticipated letter to her siblings, keeping all abreast of the news and events of West Tennessee.  

Shirley was preceded in death by her parents Ulis and Zula McNew and her sisters Dorothy Hunter, Jenny Hopper, and Margie Albright.  She is survived by her husband of 52 years Joe Willhite; daughter Shannon Willhite Finks and her husband Lloyd Finks of Memphis and their children Harrison and Grayson; son Andy Willhite and his wife Mandy of Memphis and their daughters Isla and Rowan; her two brothers Wayne McNew (wife Evelyn) and Roy McNew and her sister Lillian Wilson all of Speedwell, TN, as well as numerous nieces and nephews. 

Shirley Willhite will be deeply and sincerely missed.  If desired, gifts may be made in her honor locally to We Care Ministries, The Martin Church of Christ, or to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.