In Memory of...

Sheila Sheftall Barnes, 79, passed away on Tuesday, April 14, 2015.

Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, April 21, 2015 at noon at Bethel CME Church 1668 Pio Nono Avenue Macon, Georgia 31201. Interment will occur at Middle Georgia Memory Gardens. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated will conduct an Omega Omega Service and the family will greet guests Monday, April 20, 2015 from 6 to 8 pm at Hutchings Funeral Home. The body will be placed in the church at 10:30 A.M. Tuesday.

Shelia was born October 30, 1935 in Macon, Georgia to the parents of Jackson Benjamin Sheftall and Martha Williams Sheftall. From an early age, Sheila always enjoyed reading, music and sports. She was an avid swimmer in her youth and served as a lifeguard. She graduated from Ballard Hudson High School and received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from Spelman College. At Ballard Hudson she met and later married William Thomas Barnes, Jr. Together they shared many happy and exciting years.

Sheila received the Master's Degree from Fort Valley State University and the Master's Degree in Social Work form the University of Georgia. She was a retired educator. Sheila began her teaching career in the Atlanta Public Schools. In Bibb County Sheila taught at Minnie Butler and Riley Elementary Schools before becoming a school social worker and later Director of the Department of School Social Work for the Bibb County School District serving for over 38 years. After retirement, she became the Director of The Ruth Hartley Mosley Center for several years.

Sheila was a devoted Christian growing up in Washington Avenue Presbyterian Church, later becoming a faithful member of Bethel CME Church. At Bethel she was a founding member of the Dramatics Board (Board of Social Concerns). Shelia was highly engaged in community activities including volunteer services to youth organizations, Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful Commission and served as the Macon Senior Cherry Blossom Queen 2012. Sheila was preceded in death by her parents.

She leaves to cherish her memory her husband William "Bill" Thomas Barnes, Jr., children William "Tommy" Barnes III (Kimberly), Carole Reese (Bernard); Grandchildren William Andrew Barnes, Brandon A. Barnes, Nicholas B. Reese, her brother Dr. Jackson B. Sheftall, Jr. (Margaret), her sister Carole Sheftall Caldwell (Floyd), nieces Sheila Sheftall Cannon (Robert), Kim Sheftall Humphries, (Fredrick), Tiffany Caldwell Brown (Timothy) and nephew Michael Caldwell (Amy); nieces Charleen Diane Hill, Anita Denise Hill, Willette Hill-Chambliss and a host of other grand nieces and nephews, cousins, relatives and former students throughout the nation.

Hutchings Service.

Family contact: 1751 Forest Hill Road - Macon, GA 31210


Published in The Macon Telegraph, April 21, 2015.