Obituary for Shirley Ann Oliver (Fitzgerald)
Shirley Ann Fitzgerald-Oliver passed away suddenly Thursday,May 18, 2017 in Newport News, Virginia. She was born to the late George and Nellie L. (Wordlaw) Fitzgerald on March 20, 1950 in Toledo, Ohio.
Shirley graduated from Robert S. Rogers High School in 1968. In May of 1972, through her union with Willie S. Oliver she gave birth to Tanyika M. Oliver. She received her Bachelors of Business Administration from the University of Toledo and a Master’s Degree in Guidance and Counseling from Bowling
Green State University. She was a licensed professional counselor in Ohio and Virginia, a national certified counselor and a critical incident stress management provided. Ms. Oliver was the Past President of the Northwest Ohio Counseling Association (NWOCA), serving on the Ohio Counseling Association (OCA) Executive Council 2002-2003 and was awarded Counsel of the Year by the OCA in 2003. In 2005, she
volunteered with The American Red Cross to provide mental health counseling services to families affected by Hurricane Katrina in the New Orleans, Louisiana area. She has also participated in the American Counseling Association Delegation to South Africa under the People to People International
Program as a Citizen Ambassador of the United States in October 2006. Ms. Oliver has traveled throughout the United States providing counseling and consultant services to military service members and their families on various military installations as a Military & Family Life Consultant (MFLC) contractor, which allowed her to do everything that she loved,counsel and travel. In addition to conducting workshops on the local, state and national levels, Shirley provided an outreach career development program for at-risk youth through the Ben
E. Williams Youth Services, Inc. throughout the City of Toledo before embarking on her new journey in the Virginia area. Priorto entering the mental health field, Shirley had over 26 years combined experience in banking, business administration and accounting where she worked for Howard University in Washington, DC as an Accounting Controller.
She accepted Christ as her Savior early in life and has always been involved in her church and their auxiliaries. Her last positions were President of The Chesapeake Club and singing in the Mass
Choir.
She was preceded in death by her father, George Fitzgerald; stepfather, Q’Dell Wordlaw; sister, Nanny Cunningham; brother, Windell Wordlaw; and ex-husband, Willie S. Oliver.
She leaves behind her mother, Nellie Wordlaw; daughter, Tanyika Oliver; grandchildren, Breyana Crittenden and Cameron Danielly; brothers in Toledo, OH, Jessie (Gennetta) Fitzgerald and James (Vivian) Fitzgerald; brother-in-law, Marion “Ham” Cunningham of Toledo, OH; sister, Rebecca Fitzgerald of Landsdale, PA; favorite aunts, Bessie Gregory of Toledo, OH and aunt Pearl Fitzgerald of Chatham, VA; and a
host of cousins, nieces, nephews, extended family and friends and church families throughout the world because of her mentee, Naoko Shimizu Nemoto in Japan. Thank you cousin, Sandra Craft-Kemp for your care while Shirley was Virginia.
Thank you First Church of Hampton for loving and caring
Shirley graduated from Robert S. Rogers High School in 1968. In May of 1972, through her union with Willie S. Oliver she gave birth to Tanyika M. Oliver. She received her Bachelors of Business Administration from the University of Toledo and a Master’s Degree in Guidance and Counseling from Bowling
Green State University. She was a licensed professional counselor in Ohio and Virginia, a national certified counselor and a critical incident stress management provided. Ms. Oliver was the Past President of the Northwest Ohio Counseling Association (NWOCA), serving on the Ohio Counseling Association (OCA) Executive Council 2002-2003 and was awarded Counsel of the Year by the OCA in 2003. In 2005, she
volunteered with The American Red Cross to provide mental health counseling services to families affected by Hurricane Katrina in the New Orleans, Louisiana area. She has also participated in the American Counseling Association Delegation to South Africa under the People to People International
Program as a Citizen Ambassador of the United States in October 2006. Ms. Oliver has traveled throughout the United States providing counseling and consultant services to military service members and their families on various military installations as a Military & Family Life Consultant (MFLC) contractor, which allowed her to do everything that she loved,counsel and travel. In addition to conducting workshops on the local, state and national levels, Shirley provided an outreach career development program for at-risk youth through the Ben
E. Williams Youth Services, Inc. throughout the City of Toledo before embarking on her new journey in the Virginia area. Priorto entering the mental health field, Shirley had over 26 years combined experience in banking, business administration and accounting where she worked for Howard University in Washington, DC as an Accounting Controller.
She accepted Christ as her Savior early in life and has always been involved in her church and their auxiliaries. Her last positions were President of The Chesapeake Club and singing in the Mass
Choir.
She was preceded in death by her father, George Fitzgerald; stepfather, Q’Dell Wordlaw; sister, Nanny Cunningham; brother, Windell Wordlaw; and ex-husband, Willie S. Oliver.
She leaves behind her mother, Nellie Wordlaw; daughter, Tanyika Oliver; grandchildren, Breyana Crittenden and Cameron Danielly; brothers in Toledo, OH, Jessie (Gennetta) Fitzgerald and James (Vivian) Fitzgerald; brother-in-law, Marion “Ham” Cunningham of Toledo, OH; sister, Rebecca Fitzgerald of Landsdale, PA; favorite aunts, Bessie Gregory of Toledo, OH and aunt Pearl Fitzgerald of Chatham, VA; and a
host of cousins, nieces, nephews, extended family and friends and church families throughout the world because of her mentee, Naoko Shimizu Nemoto in Japan. Thank you cousin, Sandra Craft-Kemp for your care while Shirley was Virginia.
Thank you First Church of Hampton for loving and caring