Sept. 23, 1945 – April 11, 2012

FAYETTE — Services for Shirley Anderson Cruel, 66, of Natchez, formerly of Fayette, who died Wednesday, April 11, 2012, in Natchez, will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Mariah Baptist Church in Fayette with the Rev. Dianne Banks officiating.

Burial will follow at Beckette Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church Cemetery in Fayette under the direction of Spencer Funeral Home in Fayette.

Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. today at Beckette Chapel and from 10 a.m. until service time Saturday at St. Mariah.

Mrs. Cruel was born Sept. 23, 1945, in Fayette, the daughter of the Rev. Isaiah Anderson Sr. and Willie Mae Anderson. She was a graduate of Jefferson County High School and a 1999 graduate of Alcorn State University where she received a bachelor of science degree in general studies.

Mrs. Cruel was employed by AJFC Headstart as a licensed social worker for more than 20 years until she retired.

Shirley accepted Christ at an early age and joined the Beckette Chapel A.M.E. Church where she served as church secretary, president of the Usher Board, president of the Missionary Board, Trustee, Steward, District Steward and Conference Missionary.

She was united in holy matrimony to Joe Roberson for 27 years. Born to this union was Carolyn and Carl. Joe and Shirley departed cordially. She later married Richard Melvin Cruel. They had a combination of 18 children.

Mrs. Cruel was a woman of faith and she never met a stranger. She allowed the Lord to be first in her life and He often used her to be a help to those she met. She was a devoted wife and mother. Her children described her as a virtuous woman and called her blessed. She was a hard worker in her home, on her job and especially in her church. She had the determination to make a change in her life and in the lives of others. She will be truly missed by all.

Mrs. Cruel was preceded in death by her husband, Richard; her parents; and one brother, Harry Anderson.

Survivors include six children, Alice Jackson and husband, Gregory, Kaye Sampson and husband, Albert, and Vincent Anderson and wife, Dionne, all of Natchez, Carolyn Veazey and husband, Larry, of Hawthorne, Calif., Carl Anderson and wife, Jackie, of Fayette, and Donna Kelly and husband, Robert, of Atlanta; 12 stepchildren, Mary S. Cruel, Marvin S. Cruel, Richard Cruel and wife, Martha, Terrance A. Cruel, Thelma Cruel-Barnes and husband, Jimmy, Velma Cruel-Oliver and Maria Knight and husband, Charles, all of Fayette, Ronnie S. Cruel and wife, Wanda, and the Rev. Stanford E. Cruel and wife, Agnes, of Port Gibson, Patricia Cruel-McNamee and husband, Leonard, of Burtonsville, Md., Shawanda Cruel of Memphis, Tenn., and Lachelle Knight and husband, Curtis, of Natchez; one godson, Samario Wolfe of Houston, Texas; nine brothers and sisters, Nina Damon of Palmdale, Calif., Henry Anderson and wife, Jean, Betty Young and husband, Charles, James Anderson and wife, Tameka, all of California City, Calif., Isaiah Anderson Jr. and wife, Quenelle, of Los Angeles, Margaret Goodman of McKinney, Texas, and Lorna Davis of Fayette; one sister-in-law, Eva Anderson of Fayette; special family friends, Catherine Jones of Fayette, Sylvia Fells of Poplar Hill and Clara Foster of Natchez; 18 grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and a number of nieces, nephews, family and friends.