Nov. 1, 1950 – March 1, 2017

NATCHEZ — Services for Shelley Simmons Junkin, 66, of Natchez, who died peacefully at home Wednesday, March 1, 2017, surrounded by her children, will be 3 p.m. today at Laird Funeral Home Chapel.  
Burial will follow at the Natchez City Cemetery under the direction of Laird Funeral Home.
Visitation will be from from 2 p.m. until service time today at the funeral home.
Shelley was born Nov. 1, 1950, in Baton Rouge, the daughter of Arnold Eugene “Gene” Simmons and Gloria Stephanie Pickard Simmons.
She was a 1968 graduate of Baker High School and continued her education at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, La.
Shelley was 12 years old when she met her future husband, the late Frank Kaiser “Buster” Junkin Jr., on a deer stand during an otherwise bleak winter day.  They married seven years later, in 1969, and settled in Natchez where they joined Grace United Methodist Church.  Together they lived on and managed Quitman Plantation, while raising their four children. Buster and Shelley were married for 47 years before his death in August 2016.
After their children were grown, Shelley returned to school to pursue her dream of a nursing career, following in her grandmother’s footsteps. She found deep fulfillment in her profession and made a number of dear, lifelong friends in nursing.
Shelley was a gracious hostess and an accomplished cook who delighted family and friends with her famous Louisiana fare.  True to her roots, she could make a gumbo that would shame even the most talented TV chefs.  It was Shelley’s generosity of spirit in the kitchen that brought loved ones to the table, and she cherished these graced times together with friends and family, and especially her 16 grandchildren and great-grandson.
Mrs. Junkin was preceded in death by one granddaughter, Clarabelle Raye Junkin.
Survivors include her four children, Frank “Kyle” Junkin III and wife, Mandy, Stephanie Junkin Allen and husband, Glynn, Jeffrey Junkin and wife, Rachel, and Joseph Junkin and wife, Jessica; her parents; one brother, Alan Simmons; 16 grandchildren, Katherine, Jeremy, Taylor, Kieren, Brady, Ty, Andrew, Miranda, Rebecca, Sunshine, Abby, Manny, Trevor, Jordan, Justin and Jason; one great-grandson, Cash; one aunt, Juanita Burroughs; and a number of nieces, nephews, in-laws and lifelong friends.
Pallbearers will be Andrew Allen, Trevor Glidewell, Brady Guidry, Jamey Hudnall, John Hudnall, Jeremy Junkin, Charlie Schloemer, Ty White and Justin Whittington.
Memorial gifts may be directed to Cathedral School Scholarship Fund, 701 Martin Luther King St., Natchez, MS 39120.
Online condolences may be sent to lairdfh.com.