Obituary of Shirley A. Barnhill

Shirley Ann Barnhill was born August 22, 1943 in Cincinnati, Ohio and passed away on March 3, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. She spent her early years with her parents Everett and Elizabeth Lay, and older brother Eddie in Jellico, Tennessee where Ev and Liz owned a neighborhood convenience store until a local flood sent the family to Indianapolis.

They settled in the Haughville neighborhood just west of downtown Indy, where Shirley spent the remainder of her youth. Eventually, she would meet her husband-to-be, Ed Barnhill when he came to their house to look at a car that Eddie decided to sell as he entered the Army. Ed bought the car, and got the girl for free.

After graduating from Washington High School, she began working at American Fletcher National Bank in the count room. While days of counting money and validating deposits may not sound exciting, she would always tell stories of working with Secret Service agents in investigations they had, primarily related to counterfeit bills.

Shirley and Ed were married in 1966 and remained on the west side of Indy, close to their families. Shirley stayed home to raise sons Bryan and Bradley until they were both well into grade school, and in 1978 she began working as a library volunteer at Chapel Glen Elementary where they attended. That volunteer work turned into a career working for the Wayne Township school system in various roles. Most of that time was spent in several of the elementary libraries, but she also served in paraprofessional roles working with special needs students, providing general classroom assistance, and even some IT/technology support roles. She retired from the Township after 30 years of service, and spent her retirement enjoying the freedom to be with family and friends - whether that meant babysitting her
grandkids, a spontaneous trip to the casino, or her monthly outing with the “Lunch Ladies” who she worked with for so many years.

When it came to the holidays, there was never any doubt where everyone would gather - always at Shirley and Ed’s. She especially enjoyed cooking for the crowd of family and friends that would always fill the house. Everyone always knew their favorite food would be on the table, even if that meant a separate pan of brownies without nuts, a personal pan of her Thanksgiving stuffing without onions, or the crispy turkey skin put aside for nieces who would always try to be the first to arrive to get more than their fair share.

Without question, her absolute pride and joy were her babies. Bryan and Brad at first, but more recently her grandkids Keaton, Averee, and Brady. She also deeply loved her “daughters” Shannon, Kelly, and Laren.

She is preceded in death by her husband of 58 years, Ed (2024), parents Everett (1996) and Elizabeth (2006) Lay, and daughter-in-law Shannon (2011).

Shirley was surrounded by a large family that will miss her every day. She is survived by sons Bryan (Kelly) and Brad (Laren) Barnhill, three grandchildren - Keaton, Averee, and Brady, step-grandchildren Christopher, Mitchell, Connor, Katie, brother Eddie (Sandy) Lay, and 14 nieces and nephews.