Margaret Whitt Shires

Margaret Whitt Shires, age 85, of Coal Heritage Road, Bluefield (Bluewell), WV and formerly of Peterstown and Welch, passed away peacefully at her home and in the care of her family on Saturday, April 13, 2024.

Margaret was born December 7, 1938 in Kellysville, WV to the late William E. R. “Pete” Whitt and Ruth Davis Whitt.  She was a graduate of Peterstown High School and Concord College.  She met the love of her life, Jimmie Shires, while growing up in Peterstown, and the two would wed on Christmas Day in 1960, having been married for sixty-three years at the time of her death.  Margaret and Jimmie also attended Concord College together before briefly moving to Cincinnati for Jimmie to enroll in mortuary school.

After his graduation from mortuary school, Margaret and Jimmie moved to Welch, and Margaret began her career as a librarian at Gary High School.  It was during this time that she helped students to navigate desegregation and advocated for respect and fairness for all students.  While living in McDowell County, Margaret would give birth to her and Jimmie’s first daughter, Lisa Shires Lineberry.  Upon moving to Bluewell in August of 1967, Margaret and Jimmie embarked on their ownership of Cravens-Shires Funeral Home, Inc., welcomed the birth of their second daughter, Lori Shires Combs, and started her legacy as a leader, not just in her family, but also in her community.

Margaret was a member of the First Baptist Church of Bluewell, where she was deeply involved and had served as organist, Sunday School teacher, and financial secretary.  Margaret dedicated decades of her life to serving in the GFWC West Virginia, eventually going on to become the State President from 1998-2000 in her “To Every Thing There Is a Season” administration.  She was a lifetime member of GFWC and a charter member of the GFWC Bluewell Woman’s Club.  She had worked tirelessly to make Bluewell a great place to live and enjoyed community service in her role as a founding member and former president of the Bluewell Improvement Association (BIA).  She was also a member of the Order of the Eastern Star Bluefield Chapter No. 66.

She was a leader, an organizer and planner, and a positive force, dedicated to helping others.  Always putting others before herself, Margaret was respected and admired by all who knew her for her compassion and humanity.

Within her family, Margaret was the stitch that tied multiple generations together.  She served as the organizer for the Davis Family reunions that she would host at her family farm in Peterstown.  She prided herself on bringing family together.  She was a gifted storyteller, writer, and editor – helping everyone from her grandchildren with their English homework to proofreading manuscripts for close friends and family.  Her hobby, and greatest joy in life, was always helping others in any way that she could.

Margaret was preceded in death by her mother, Ruth Davis Whitt; her father and step-mother, William E.R. “Pete” Whitt and Virginia Whitt; her sister, Regina Shires (the late Bill Shires).  

Survivors include her devoted husband of 63-years, Jimmie Shires, of the home; two daughters, Lisa Shires Lineberry (the late William “Bill” Lineberry) of Bluefield, and Lori Shires Combs (Gene Combs) of Princeton; four grandchildren, Allison Combs of Stokesdale, NC, William “Billy” Lineberry (partner Rachel Sparkman) of Richmond, VA, Logan Lineberry (fiancé Kaitlyn Leary) of Atlanta, GA, and Brody Combs of Princeton; sister-in-law, Ellen Shires (the late Arnold Shires) of Rich Creek, VA, and brother-&-sister-in-law, Buddy and Winnona Shires of Newburgh, IN; and extended family and numerous friends.  At the time of her passing, Margaret’s special caregivers included Kimberly Norton, Alex Mitchem, Amanda Wright, and Jennifer Brown.  Special care was also provided to the Shires Family by Amedisys Hospice.

Funeral services will be conducted at 2:00 PM on Tuesday, April 16, 2024 at Cravens-Shires Funeral Home in Bluewell, WV, with Rev. Jim Milam and Chaplain C.T. Lilly officiating.  Friends may call from 12:00 PM until the time of the funeral services.  Entombment will follow at the Woodlawn Memorial Park Mausoleum in Bluewell, where special friends and family members will serve as pallbearers.  Memorial contributions in Margaret’s honor can be made to any of the community organizations she loved and supported.