Celinda Shirley Blair's Obituary
Celinda Verna Shirley Blair, age 83, went home to be with her beloved Lord on March 31, 2024.
She was born in Virginia, though her family moved to North Little Rock, where she graduated from North Little Rock High School. She attended Oklahoma Baptist University on an academic scholarship. Celinda excelled at OBU as an honor student, member of Phi Theta Kappa, was elected Freshman Queen, and served as a varsity cheerleader.
After college, Celinda worked as an executive assistant for Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division, as well as Little Rock’s Assistant District Attorney. In 1961, a family friend arranged the only blind date she ever had, with Ron Blair. He was immediately smitten and proposed just three weeks later. They married the following December and celebrated their 57th anniversary shortly before his death. Ron and Celinda welcomed their daughters, Celinda Rhonda, in 1964 and Amy, in 1969.
Ron’s government career required the family to move around the country numerous times. Celinda never took long to create a beautiful home for her family. And, with her incredibly magnetic personality, she quickly made new friends and immersed herself in local tennis and social groups.
Celinda loved to share her knowledge and passion for her many talents with others. She taught swimming, water safety, and lifeguard certification courses for students of all ages for 15 years with the American Red Cross. She also gave canoeing lessons and was even a yoga exercise instructor at one point. She was very involved in all her daughters’ many activities, and frequently mentored their Girl Scouts troops in legendary art and cultural ventures.
Aside from her daughters, Celinda’s deepest passion was her work as a professional artist. She studied at the Maryland College of Art and Design which led her to a successful career specializing in watercolor and pastel portraiture. Her extraordinary work is owned privately and corporately, both locally and abroad. She found tremendous joy in teaching artistic anatomy and life drawing classes at various studios and as a guest lecturer at Collin College.
Celinda developed a relationship with God as a child and had joyful memories of singing “Jesus Loves Me” in the garden with a happy little heart. Her sweet faith deepened throughout her life and as she neared the end, she rejoiced in knowing she would soon see Jesus. It is a bittersweet comfort to her family that her heart’s delight was fulfilled when she passed on Easter Sunday.
Celinda is preceded in death by her parents, Hal Shirley and Verna Shirly, and her beloved brother, Hal Shirley, Jr. She is survived by her dearly loved daughters, Celinda R. Blair of Frisco, Texas, and Amy Blair Gauna and her husband, Jerry Gauna of Plano, Texas.
Private services will be held at Restland Funeral Home in Dallas on April 10, 2024.
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