Shirley Ann French Wood, age 74, of Big Canoe, passed away Friday, August 25, 2017 at Piedmont Mountainside Hospital in Jasper. She was born September 15, 1942 to Earl and Anna Mae French in Alcoa, Tennessee.

She was preceded in death by parents, Earl and Anna Mae (Ballew) French and her beloved grandmother, Mamie Tennessee Ballew.

Shirley is survived by her husband, Edward “Ed” Wood; children, Gary Wood (Brook McGuire), Kristen O’Neill; grandchildren, Cassidy O’Neill, Kelsey O’Neill, Harley Wood; siblings, Peggy Sue Blevins, Charles French; brothers-in-law, Tom Wood, Jack Wood, Jim Blevins and several nieces and nephews.

Shirley and Ed lived in Melbourne, FL (where they met at the A & W Root Beer Drive-In); Bad Aibling, Germany; Buford, GA; Gainesville, GA; Huntsville, AL; and Big Canoe, GA. Shirley loved to travel and never met a stranger and as a result made lasting friends in England and Germany, all because she asked “do you like to talk?” She was liked by everyone she met and had a smile that would light up a room.

An informal Memorial and Celebration Service will be held at the Hilton Inn (Alcoa, TN) on Saturday, June 2, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. with Reverend Lamar Helms officiating.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Big Canoe Chapel in Shirley’s memory.

Arrangements are entrusted to the staff of Roper Funeral Home & Crematory in Jasper, Georgia.

Online condolences can be made at www.roperfuneralhome.com.