Martha Vivian Shirley, 79, passed away Wednesday, September 10, 2025. Funeral Services will be held 12:00pm Monday, September 15th in the Mt. Arbor Baptist Church, 2235 Morgan Rd., Marietta with the Revs. Richard Duncan and Jimmy Gayton officiating.  The family will receive friends from 5:00 – 8:00pm on Sunday evening at Marietta Funeral Home, 915 Piedmont Rd., Marietta.  Burial will follow the service in the Pine Ridge Memorial Park Cemetery in Kennesaw. 

 Martha was a member of the Mt. Arbor Baptist Church.  She loved to sing, laugh and have a good time.  Martha loved to serve others during the holidays, especially the front linemen who had to work on the holidays.  She loved painting, ceramics and giving them away, and loved cooking. She loved her family and friends with all her heart. 

 Martha was preceded in death by her parents, Ernest and Artie Gayton; husband, William L. Shirley; 2 grandchildren, Katie L. Samples and Tony A Samples; and 7 siblings.  She is survived by her children, Doyle (Connie) Hughes, Vivian Hughes (Robert) Jones, Jonathon (Missy) Hughes, Melissa Hughes; her current love for many years, John D. Phillips, his daughters, Jamie, Tammy and Barbara; 13 grandchildren; 23 great grandchildren; 2 great great grandchildren; former spouse Melvin Hughes and his wife Beverly; siblings, Leon Gayton, Patricia Burchett, Betty Eichhorn; several nieces and nephews also survive. 

 In lieu of flowers contributions in memory of Martha can be made to The Heart Association  https://pages.heart.org/honor-memorial/    or The Amercian Cancer Society  https://donate.cancer.org  

 Marietta Funeral home is honored to serve the family of Ms. Martha Vivian Shirley.