One day our Father God lovingly prepared the life of a baby girl. On June 6, 1955 he presented this precious baby girl to Annie Lee Ramsey McFadden in Sumter, South Carolina, who she would name Shirley.
God assigned Jerry (JD) McFadden to help raise, love and nourish Shirley into the strong woman she was. When Shirley was 14 years old; she left the south and moved to New Jersey where she was educated in the Freehold Regional School District. It was God’s plan that she met and married the love of her life, Donald Bass. From that union came Jazzmine, the apple of her eye.
Shirley loved to play bingo, sing gospel and loved her family. She attended Emmanuel Pentecostal Church in Lakewood, NJ under the leadership of Overseer Carrie F. Jones Jackson. She later became a member of Victory Tabernacle of Prayer under the leadership of Bishop Dennis C. Carlisle. There, she would often be heard singing “Church I’ve Already Been to the Water”, or “Your Grace and Mercy” to name a few. Along with the Victorious Gospel Choir, she opened for Bruce Springsteen’s Christmas Concerts and recorded on his album, “Wrecking Ball”. She shared those exciting moments with her husband and daughter. She was rarely seen without her Jazzmine.
On September 15, 2020, it was God’s plan that she return to him. Shirley is preceded in death by her parents, Jerry and Annie McFadden; brother Jerry McFadden, Jr.; and sister, Veretta McFadden Stackhouse.
She leaves to cherish her memories her husband, Donald Bass of Lakewood, NJ; daughter, Jazzmine Bass of Lakewood, NJ; brother, Rodney McFadden of Cranbury, NJ; four sisters, Stellile Lewis of Ewing, NJ; Jirldine (Guillermo) Leon-Cruz of Cranbury, NJ, Shelia McFadden of Jackson, NJ; Carine (Joseph) Polcaro of Boynton Beach, FL; god-daughter, Asia McFadden; god-son, Darnell Lewis; in-laws, Belinda and Raymond Stradley of Manalapan, NJ; Sharon Bass of Newark, DE; Danny and Kim Bass of Manalapan, NJ; Sharon Bass of Newark, DE; Danny and Kim Bass of Pennsylvania; James Sharpe of Neptune, NJ; Michael and Alicia of Neptune, NJ; and Darlene and Donald Postell of Freehold, NJ; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and many friends.
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