City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremation

Obituary
Virginia Shirley

Raleigh, North Carolina

Age 85.
Died 04/17/2024.

Virginia Shirley
Virginia Painter Shirley, a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother died peacefully at her home in Raleigh, North Carolina with her husband by her side on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, at the age of 85. Her spirit lives on in the hearts and minds of her family and friends.

Ginny Ann was born in Pearisburg, Virginia on December 5, 1938, the oldest of three daughters of Isaac Chapman Painter, Jr., and Fannie Mae Painter. She graduated from Pearisburg High School in 1956 and thereafter trained as a radiology technician. After marrying Henry G. Shirley on June 17, 1960 she and Henry and their family lived in Bermuda, West Germany, and various duty stations in the United States during Henry’s career in the United States Air Force. After retiring from the Air Force Henry and Ginny Ann moved to Virginia, and in 2002, moved to Raleigh to be closer to their children.

Ginny Ann is survived by Henry, her devoted husband of sixty-four years, four children, three grandchildren, five great grandchildren with two more due this summer:
daughter Cynthia Shirley of Loganville, GA;
son Graham Shirley, and his wife Kim of Apex, NC and children Sydney Reid, husband Robert, and grandchildren Graham and Winnie; Jefferson Stafford Shirley and wife Lauren who are expecting twins; son Hank Shirley and wife Kerstin of East Greensboro, NC and daughter Michaela Smith and husband Brian, and children Teagan, Kenan and Dean; and son Grant Shirley, wife Brenda and stepdaughter Monica Gibb and husband Ryan. Ginny Ann is also survived by her sister Linda Hammack and several nephews and nieces. In addition to her parents, she is preceded in death by her youngest sister Judy Baker.

In her younger years Ginny Ann enjoyed camping with her husband and children in the United States and traveling across Europe with the family when her husband was stationed in Germany. Once her children were grown, she loved spending time with her children, grandchildren, and great great-grandchildren. She was a treasured travel companion for her husband, enjoying trips throughout the United States and abroad, often joined by her sister Linda and her husband Denny, as well as her cousins. Ginny Ann loved to cook and play bridge. She was an active member of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, where she served on the kitchen staff for many years.
She will be missed by all, most of all by her family, for her love, laughter, and sense of humor.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Thursday, April 25 at 2 p.m. at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, 1520 Canterbury Road, Raleigh, NC 27608, the Rev. Holly Gloff presiding.
In lieu of flowers memorial gifts may be made to the VMI Foundation, P.O. Box 932 Lexington, VA 24450 with the Shirley Scholarship in the memo line.

For additional information or for service details, please reach out to the family directly.


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City of Oaks Cremation and Funeral Home is a full-service funeral home in Raleigh, serving all of North Carolina and beyond. We provide an alternative to costly funeral homes and every day we help families in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and all over North Carolina make simple, affordable funeral arrangements.

Simply having to reach out to a funeral home can feel overwhelming. Our goal is to simplify the entire funeral home experience and make the process as easy as possible. We hope to eliminate any unnecessary surprises by publishing our total cost and the services we provide directly on our website. All of our obituaries are provided free of charge as a way to help families celebrate and commemorate the lives of their loved ones.

Our Promise

Apples to Apples

Just like all other licensed funeral homes in North Carolina, City of Oaks Cremation, LLC is regulated by the NC Board of Funeral Service.


The same laws that apply to the big corporate funeral homes also apply to the modest independently owned firms like ours. All crematories in North Carolina, regardless of who owns them, are inspected annually by the state and must adhere to the same rules and laws.

Genuine Care

We're committed to providing families within our community unsurpassed service before, during and after the time of loss.


Our staff will provide clear communication to your family through each step as we move forward from the original phone call notifying us of a death to the time we deliver the urn back to your family. We will treat your family with the utmost respect, as we honor the wishes of your loved one.


We promise to make this process affordable and as endurable as possible.

State Wide

Our Funeral Home is located in Wake County NC; however, we provide our services to families throughout the entire State.


Unlike other funeral homes, we don't charge an additional mileage fee. Regardless of what county you live in, we can help your family with making simple, affordable funeral arrangements. From Asheville to Wilmington, we're proud to help families statewide.

Our Services

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Direct Cremation

$1196.75

Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. We include everything you need for a simple or direct cremation. Simple, affordable and reliable. We have not changed the cost of our direct cremation service since we opened City of Oaks in 2012.

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Cremation with Solidified Remains

$2875.66

We offer the option of choosing how you receive your loved ones remains. Selecting our Direct Cremation with Solidified Remains option is a beautiful way to transform cremated remains into 40-60 “stones” that you can hold.

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Cremation with Visitation

$1917.84

City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation option with onsite visitation. Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. Simple, affordable and reliable.

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Immediate Burial

$2497.50

An immediate burial has the same end result as a traditional burial; however, we have eliminated the extra (sometimes unnecessary) services prior to getting to the cemetery. Not everyone wants an open casket for viewing or a limousine for the family. Despite the term immediate, we can move as fast as you need or as slow as you like. This option simply allows you to save money by eliminating some of the fancy extras at the funeral home.

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Traditional Funeral

$6081.48

We offer the same traditional funeral services as the big corporately owned funeral homes in the area; however, we cost about half the amount. You might consider a traditional funeral service if your family is looking for an open casket visitation, a traditional church service or a funeral service in the funeral home's chapel. A traditional funeral service can be altered to fit the needs of your family.

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Green Burial

$3033.75

This establishment is one of a select number of funeral homes who meet the criteria for providing green funeral service by the Green Burial Council; a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization working to encourage environmentally sustainability in the field of funeral service. Our Green options allow for a funeral to take place without the use of toxic and non-biodegradable materials/chemicals.

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Aquamation

$2640.59

As an alternative to traditional cremation, City of Oaks Funeral Home also offers Aquamation. The Aquamation process, often referred to as alkaline hydrolysis, uses a solution of water and potassium hydroxide to facilitate natural decomposition.

City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremations