Shirley Joan Courtney White, age 86, of Asheville, went home to be with the Lord on Sunday, June 28, 2020 at Four Seasons Hospice Elizabeth House in Flat Rock. She was born on October 19, 1933 in Buncombe County to the late Alfred P. Courtney and Lula Smith Courtney. Shirley worked many different jobs but most notably, worked as a courier delivery driver for Airborne Express with her son Gary who started the first Airborne Express courier service in Asheville. She was a member of Macedonia Baptist Church in Alexander. Most importantly, she loved being a mother and a grandmother and loved being with her family. Shirley was widowed at a young age by her late husband, Ralph White and raised their four children on her own. In addition to her parents and her husband, she was also preceded in death by her sons, Gary and Philip White; her brothers, Robert, James, Johnny, Donald, and Kenneth Courtney; her sisters, Thelma Phillips, Helen Courtney and Jean Mancuso. Shirley is survived by her daughter, Susan Brown of Leicester; her son, Dr. John White (Patty) of Arden; her grandchildren, Zachary Brown of Leicester, Jeremy Brown of Leicester, Evan White of Asheville, and Aaron and Caroline White, both of Arden.
A funeral service will be held at 12pm, Sunday, July 5, 2020 in the Penland Family Funeral Home Chapel in Swannanoa. The family will be receiving friends an hour before the service from 11am-12pm at the funeral home. Pastor Paul Sluder will be officiating. Burial will follow the service at Macedonia Baptist Church Cemetery in Alexander, NC. In lieu of flowers, the family would like donations to be made to Four Seasons Hospice at 571 South Allen Road, Flat Rock, NC 28731. The family would like to offer special thanks to the staff at Stonecreek Health and Rehabilitation for all of the loving care and attention that was given to Mrs. White while she was a resident there. Penland Family Funeral Home is honored to be caring for the White Family.
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