Shirley Elizabeth Garland

Miss Shirley Elizabeth Garland, beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend, was born on August 1, 1945. She was born to the late Cleveland Champion and the late Ernestine Foster (Knight) at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD. On Saturday, December 6, 2025, she peacefully transitioned at home, surrounded by her family. Shirley Garland was educated in the Baltimore City Public School System. She later branched off into Food Service Sanitation Management, where she worked diligently for the Department of the Army at Fort Meade, Maryland. Shirley was married to Henry Wesly Garland on October 21, 1962, and three children were born to this union: Henry Wesly Garland, Jr. (Aira) of Sacramento, CA; Angela Marie Merritt (Patrick) of McDonough, GA; and Andre Lamont Garland (Victoria) of Yorktown, VA. Her legacy will be carried on in the hearts of her three children, eight grandchildren—Tyson Garland and Kyler Garland of Sacramento, CA; Sheriod Merritt, Sean Merritt, and Sheron Merritt of McDonough, GA; Antoine Harris of Lynchburg, VA; Aixa Garland of Washington, D.C.; and Alexis Davis (Garland) of Hampton, VA—ten great-grandchildren, and three brothers: Gerald Knight, Melvin Knight, and Alvin Knight, all of Baltimore, MD. She was preceded in death by four brothers: Reginald Knight, Charles Edgar Knight, Thessalonia Knight, Jr., and Keith Maurice Knight Rollins. In her early years, Shirley was active in the church, where she sang in the choir and assisted with Sunday School services for the children at Zion Baptist Church. After the closing of the Fort Meade military base, Shirley began traveling with her daughter and husband, as well as her son Andre and his wife, to England, Germany, Spain, Amsterdam, and other European countries, as well as Las Vegas, New York, Virginia, and Georgia. During this time, she played a huge part in helping to raise her grandchildren. Shirley will always be remembered as a woman of few words. Her huge heart and kind spirit will never be forgotten.