Shirley Lonidier Tarpley Till, 88, of Pollock, Louisiana, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, January 15, 2025, at Brookdale Senior Living in Alexandria.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday, January 24, 2025, at New Friendship Baptist Church in Pollock, under the direction of Southern Funeral Home, Winnfield. Reverends Eddie Carpenter of Pollock and Lloyd Whitman of Dry Prong will officiate. Interment will follow at New Friendship Baptist Church Cemetery in Pollock.

Visitation will take place at New Friendship Baptist Church on Friday, January 24, from 9:00 AM until the time of service.

Born on April 16, 1936, in Alexandria, she was a native of her beloved Avoyelles Parish.  Shirley attended LaFargue Elementary School and Pollock High School. Her professional life was dedicated to serving and nurturing others. She began as a nurse's aide in the pediatric wing of The Hospital at Pinecrest State School in Pineville, Louisiana, later advancing to serve as a Cottage Director for the Louisiana Department of Hospitals until her retirement. Following her retirement, Shirley pursued her passion for working with children as an early childhood educator at local daycare centers, including Palestine United Methodist Church, Kingsville Baptist Church, and Alpine Baptist Church in Rapides Parish. If you were to ask her, she would tell you that motherhood was her highest achievement.

A devoted member of Pollock First Baptist Church, Shirley was also a 50-year member of the Order of the Eastern Star, Golden Star Chapter #73, in Pollock. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother who cherished her family deeply.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 52 years, Eddie L. Tarpley, of Pollock;  parents, Luther William Lonidier and Bonnie Fee Stevens Martin of Pollock; her brother, Rex Bennett Lonidier of Baker; and half-sisters, Juanita Lonidier Thompson and Virginia Stevens DeRosier all of Alexandria.

Shirley is survived by her husband of eight years, Charles W. "Sonny" Till, and his children, Butch, Tommy, Cynthia, SueEllen, and Paula; her children, Edward L. Tarpley Jr. (Deborah) and Lt. Col. Michael Lynn Tarpley (Cyndi), both of Pollock, and Lisa Tarpley Price (Jerry) of Winnfield; her grandchildren, Nathan Tarpley of Pollock, Maria Tarpley Calloway (Shaun) of Ben Wheeler, Texas, Megan Tarpley Simmons (Brandon) of Pollock, Mary Beth Tarpley of Dallas, Texas, Dr. Malia Lynn Salvador Tarpley of Sacramento, California, Samuel Jesse Salvador Tarpley of Pollock, Anna Irene Dearmon Kornick (Scott) of  Madisonville, and William Tarpley Dearmon (Kelsey) of Ruston; and 10 great-grandchildren: Claire Margaret, James Aubrey, Luke Anthony, and John Edward Calloway; Eddie Perry Martin, Marcie Leigh Simmons, Camilla Jane Kornick, Elizabeth Allbritton Kornick, Charlotte Diane Dearmon, and Evelyn Rose Dearmon.

She is also survived by her brothers, Luther Gayle Lonidier (Becky) of Calhoun, Georgia, and Victor Lonidier of Pollock; her sister, Margie Jones of Lawrence, Kansas; and numerous step-grandchildren, step-great grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

Pallbearers will be William Tarpley Dearmon, Christopher Lonidier, Hershel Lonidier, Nathan Edward Tarpley, Samuel Jesse Salvador Tarpley, Dr. Raymond Jesse Tarpley.

Honorary pallbearers include Douglas Alston, Dr. David Barnard, Billy Wayne Kees, Dr.Joseph Mark Tarpley, Tommy Till, and Harold Ussery.

Shirley's legacy of love, kindness, and service will be remembered and cherished by all who knew her.

Messages of condolence may be made to the family online by visiting southernfuneralhome.com