Shirley Elaine (Williams) Barnes

Shirley Elaine Barnes was born on September 4, 1929, to the union of Matt Williams and
Kate Burney in Jackson, Tennessee. She was the second youngest among her siblings:
brothers Sam, Mac, William, Robert, and Wilbur, and sisters Mary and Faye. Shirley
attended elementary school in Jackson but, at the age of thirteen, she and her family
moved to Paducah, Kentucky, where she enrolled and graduated from Lincoln High School
and met the man whom she would marry, James Sullivan.
Shortly after their marriage in 1948, Shirley and James moved north, as part of the Great
Migration, in search of better opportunities. The young couple briefly resided in Pontiac,
Michigan, with members of the Sullivan family whose move had preceded their own, and
finally settled in Chicago with James’s sister, Gladys. By 1950, looking to establish their
own household, Shirley and James welcomed their first child, a daughter, Winifred. James
had found work as a laborer, and Shirley remained at home for a while, caring for the new
baby. However, after arranging child care, she found employment in Chicago’s garment
industry, where she became an excellent seamstress and, as a perfect size 12, modeled
some of the company’s products.
By 1955, as the couple continued striving to gain an economic foothold, Shirley gave birth
to their second child, Michael. Soon thereafter, the family returned to Michigan, where
James would eventually find a position with the United States Postal Service.
Unfortunately, it would be at the post office that he fell victim to a fatal work-related
injury. Shirley would move back to Chicago, where some of her family members now
lived, and begin to raise her two young children as a single parent.
As a child in Jackson, Shirley, along with her family, had been Methodist. In Paducah, she
was a member of St. James C.M.E. Church. But when an order of nuns moved directly
across the street from her family’s home in Paducah, as part of a mission in the Black
community—Rosary Catholic Church—Shirley’s interest in Catholicism was piqued. Her
visits with the nuns, unbeknownst to her mother, would enkindle and sustain that interest.
In the early 50s, living in Chicago, Shirley began to attend Corpus Christi Catholic Church,
where she would pursue religious instruction toward conversion. She would also see that
her children were baptized Catholic and that they attended Catholic schools, where she
was always an active and involved parent.
By 1961, Shirley decided that she needed a marketable skill, and she enrolled in nursing
school. Using public transportation, she got to each of her student nurse rotations and
completed her training with what was, reportedly, the third highest score on the State of
Illinois nursing boards for that year. Her nursing career would be delayed, however,
because she contracted tuberculosis. She was allowed to remain at home for treatment
upon consenting to weekly clinic visits and protective vaccinations for her children.
Finally, she was able to begin employment at Illinois Research Hospital and, eventually, at
the University of Chicago Billings Hospital, where she worked for many years.
In 1966, Shirley met Milton Barnes, an officer with the Chicago Police Department. Soon
the two were married and, together, they purchased a home on Chicago’s South Side and
raised a family, including a new baby, in 1967, Milton V. Barnes. Their life continued
uninterrupted until 1975, when Milton, now a plain clothes detective for the police
department, suffered a fatal heart attack in the line of duty.
Again a widow, and now a single parent of three, Shirley was encouraged to press the
Chicago Police Department for sufficient financial assistance to adequately provide for her
family. Shirley had always been strong-willed, determined and engaged, helping to
unionize nurses at the University of Chicago hospital and serving as a political volunteer,
eventually becoming an electoral judge, but the idea of challenging the police department
was daunting. Nevertheless, she persisted with an effort that lead to the initiation of a class
action suit which, on its successful conclusion, enabled all families whose loved one met
death in the line of duty as a City of Chicago police officer to receive long-term financial
support.
By the 1980s, her adult children had left the family home in pursuit of their own careers
and landed in St. Louis. In 1987, with all of her children living in St. Louis, Shirley chose
to relocate here as well, and the family embarked on a new chapter of their lives. She
would return to work as a nurse, first, at the student health center at the University of
Missouri-St. Louis, and afterward, for a brief stint at a local senior care facility. Otherwise,
time was spent with her children, enjoying a host of fun activities in their new city,
celebrating holidays at home, and making new friends. Shirley continued to serve as an
election volunteer and relished greeting her neighbors when they came to vote. She
registered as a parishioner at Christ the King Catholic Church, where she cherished
helping with the Room at the Inn program and at the Ladies Sodality Christmas gathering.
Christmas was Shirley’s favorite holiday, and no one celebrated it with more enthusiasm.
Shirley lived a long and full life, having overcome many hardships along the way. On June
26, 2025, her soul flew free. She is survived by her loving and beloved children, her
precious nieces and nephews, a sister-in-law, and innumerable devoted friends. She was a
pillar of strength, a deep well of unconditional love, and her memory—illumined by an
undying flame—will be a blessing.
The Sullivan/Barnes family wishes to acknowledge the loving support of extended family
members, hospice care providers, and countless friends, whose prayer and acts of
kindness were so uplifting during this difficult time. A funeral Mass will be celebrated on
Saturday, August 2, 2025, at noon, at Christ the King Catholic Church, 7316 Balson
Avenue, University City, Missouri. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Catholic
Charities of St. Louis, the tornado relief fund (Storm Relief STL).

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