Shirley Laroda

Mrs. Shirley M. LaRoda, age 80 of Dothan, AL passed away on July 3, 2019; visitation will be Tuesday, July 9, 2019 4-6 PM at the funeral home; funeral service will be held on Wednesday, July 10, 2019 10 AM at the Greater Shiloh Baptist Church in Headland, AL; burial will be follow at the Glories Temple Cemetery in Columbia, AL. 

Shirley M. LaRoda was born on October 30, 1938 in Miami, FLorida to the late Edward and Connie LaRoda. She moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania when she was a teenager. Preceding her in death were her two brothers: Edward LaRoda and David Alexander LaRoda, and her eldest son Ronald Darnell LaRoda. Mother LaRoda attended Benjamin Franklin High School and received her diploma. She later studied at Philadelphia Community College majoring in accounting where she obtained a 4.0 GPA her first year but had to discontinue due to health reasons. She was employed  at the Defense Logistics Agency for 23 years and received the Distinguished Career Award from Washington, D.C.

Mother LaRoda was baptized in Jesus' name and received the gift of the Holy Ghost in 1979 under the late Bishop J.H. Smalls. Her favorite scriptures was Psalm 91 and John 1:1. She worked tirelessly in the ministry, serving as church secretary and at times the treasurer for several ministries over the years.  She touched the lives of over 350 children with her Blanket Drive, an outreach ministry that supplied blankets for children who suffered from at Children's Hospital in Birmingham, AL.  Mother LaRoda was also known for taking in the homeless and feeding the hungry.  She was famous for her baking, using the proceeds to organize and support street meetings for the past 5 years.  She co-labored in the vineyard with her pastor and dear friend, Pastor Mary Lawrence, and assisted her in the reopening of Outreach Prayer Mission Pentecostal Church which was her place of worship.

She leaves behind to mourn her two sisters: DIane Goodman and Sandra Stewart; her children: Rosalyn Freeland, Karen LaRoda, Jacqueline LaRoda-Key, John (Donay) LaRoda, Jean Williams, Connie (James) Williams, and Diana LaRoda; grandchildren: Nicole Thomas, Henri, Chira, and Keenan Freeland, Juanita Galliard, Ronald and Katrina Brown, Roniece, Shawn, Kamesha, Teneshia, David, Kimberly, and Benjamin LaRoda, Zafir and Ameen Wajid, Caiya Whitehead, Matthew Jacquelene, James and Juanita Williams, Shaunice Washington, Darius Gary-LaRoda and a host of great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

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