Shirley Hamra

MALDEN, Mo. — Shirley Louise George Hamra was born April 14, 1940, in Memphis, Tennessee, to Louis and Olivia Kahalley George. She passed peacefully at her home in Malden on Friday, March 8, 2024, at the age of 82 years.

A graduate of Osceola, Arkansas, High School, Shirley attended Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, and then went on to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis with a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

On Nov. 23, 1962, Shirley was united in marriage to Dr. Don E. Hamra. They moved to Malden that same year and established Dr. Hamra’s dental practice. They were active members of the Malden United Methodist Church where Shirley shared her beautiful soprano voice to the Chancel Choir as well as local community cantatas. On Nov. 2, 1965, the couple were blessed with the birth of their only child, daughter Olivia Carole.

Besides supporting her husband in his many civic endeavors, Shirley served on the town’s Cable Television Oversight Committee and later the Board of Public Works Board. She was a gracious host and loved visiting and cooking for friends. Shirley was a champion for equal rights, whether it be voting, housing or women’s rights. In her later years she joined the Malden Catholic Church.

Shirley is survived by her granddaughter, Kahalley Olivia Hamra.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. Donald E. Hamra; and daughter, Olivia Carole Hamra.

A memorial service with be held at the Malden United Methodist Church on April 20, 2024, at 1 p.m.

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Memorials may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.