Obituary of Shelby Marsh Godwin

Mrs. Shelby Marsh Godwin, age 74, of Ozark, died Sunday, November 30, 2014, following a battle with esophageal cancer. Funeral services will be 4:00 P. M. Thursday, December 4, 2014, from the First United Methodist Church of Ozark with Reverend R. Mike Sigler, Reverend Meghan S. Kelley, and Reverend Dr. Billy D. Gaither officiating, Holman Funeral Home and Cremations of Ozark directing. The family will receive friends in the fellowship hall Thursday following the service. Shelby was born in Ozark, Alabama, on October 1, 1940, to Theodore Roosevelt “Bob” Marsh and Ouida Eudell Smith Marsh. She graduated from Carroll High School and received her degree in Business Education, with a minor in English, from Troy State University. After a ten-year courtship, Shelby married Joe Harris Godwin on November 22, 1969. In her early career, she worked as a legal secretary, kept flight records at Cairns Field, and served as a high school teacher. For the majority of her career, she was employed with the U. S. Army’s Directorate of Evaluation and Standardization (DES) at Fort Rucker, from which she retired in 1995 as a GS12 Education Specialist, with just over 32 years of service. Shelby had a profound love for animals, was a talented flower and vegetable gardener, and was an avid waterskier and boating enthusiast in her younger years. She was active in her church, First United Methodist Church of Ozark, where she had served as Chair of the Worship Committee, was a member of the Kells C. Carroll Sunday School class, enjoyed fellowship with her “back row” buddies, and played guitar in the Happy Angel Band. She was preceded in death by her parents; her sister, Maxie Jeanette Marsh; and brothers, Robert Russell Marsh and Harold Loyd Marsh. Shelby is survived by her husband, Joe Harris Godwin of Ozark; daughter, Angie Godwin McEwen (Scott) of Vestavia Hills; grandson, Grant Ellis McEwen of Vestavia Hills; sister, JoAnn Marsh Boyett of Montgomery; brother, Bobby Ray Marsh (Sandra) of Ozark; and a host of nieces and nephews. Memorial contributions may be made to First United Methodist Church of Ozark, Alabama, 167 East Broad Street, Ozark, Alabama 36360; The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, P. O. Box 96929, Washington, DC 20090-6929; or The American Cancer Society, 3054 McGehee Road, Montgomery, Alabama 36111. Service Information