Advanced Senior Mother Shelba Thurman

Advanced Senior Mother Shelba Thurman was born December 9, 1952, in Quitaque, Texas to the parents of Adv. Sr. Mtr. Joe Jean Ware and the late Elder Curtis Ware.  She was the fourth born of seven children.  Mother Thurman was a devoted wife and loving mother to many.

Mother Thurman attended Childress School prior to integration in 1965.  She graduated from Nashville High School in May 1970.  She was a member of the Nashville High band and played the flute.  Her passion for caring for others began at an early age when she became a candy stripper in 1966.

Mother Thurman furthered her education attending AM&N College in Pine Bluff, Arkansas with aspirations of becoming a nurse.  She achieved her goal in 1971 becoming an LPN.  In 1972, she moved to Flint, Michigan and enrolled in Hurley College of Nursing to further her education of becoming a RN.  However, due to a tragic car accident that took her papa Curtis Ware on January 22, 1972, she moved back to Nashville, Arkansas.  Her heart desire was to help her mom with her younger 3 siblings.

Mother Thurman met the love of her life and married on December 31, 1972.  She worked at Howard Memorial Hospital for over 20 years in various capacities being the first African American nurse to work in the hospital.  While working at the hospital she also attended night school to become a licensed cosmetologist.  She graduated in 1984 and became an entrepreneur in 1988 opening the Hair Pair Salon.  She worked at the Arkansas Department of Health where she retired in 2008.

A precious, Godly, and elect lady, Adv. Sr. Mtr. Thurman became a junior minister at an early age in 1970.  She continued to grow in the gospel and advance in the ministry.

Mother Thurman held many church positions over the years and was a member of the Supreme Council of the House of Jacob, National Choir.  A dedicated and faithful wife of a pastor, Mother Thurman always assisted her husband in his ministry whenever asked.

Mother Thurman was preceded in death by her papa, Elder Curtis Ware, son: Brother Joie Thurman.

She is survived by her husband: APE Judge Cross Thurman, children: Bro. Joey Thurman, Sis. Jada Thurman Green (Bro. Timothy Green), Sis. Jenia Thurman (Bro. Cornelius Watson), Bro. Jason Thurman (Sis. Chauntea Thurman), Mother: Adv. Sr. Mtr. Joe Jean Ware, brother, Edward Wallace Ware, sisters: Sr. Mtr. Glorious Burns (APE. Larry Burns), Sr. Mtr. Diann Ferguson (Pr. Eld. Joseph Ferguson), Mtr. Melody Ware, Eldress April Ware, brother, Bro. Ronnie Ware (Sis. Teresa Ware), and a host of nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.

Funeral service will be 2:00 pm Sunday, February 2, 2025, at Maranatha Baptist Church, 300 Trenton Blvd. Nashville.  Burial will be at Sunset Gardens Cemetery, Nashville.  Arrangements entrusted to Hicks Funeral Home, Inc.

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