Mrs. Vela Mae Shirah Hagler

Mrs. Vela Mae Shirah Hagler passed away Wednesday morning, July 25, 2007, at Hartford Healthcare in Hartford. She was 97. Funeral services will be Saturday in Salem Baptist Church at 11 a.m. with the Rev. Harold Peters officiating. Entombment will follow in the church cemetery. Mrs. Haglers body will be placed in the church one hour prior to service time on Saturday morning. The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 6 to 8 p.m. today. The family requests the omission of flowers. Memorial contributions may be made to Salem Baptist Church, C/O Mr. Don Johnson, 80008 County Road 33, Skipperville, AL 36374, or to Wiregrass Hospice, P.O. Drawer 2127, Dothan, AL 36302. Mrs. Hagler was born Jan. 8, 1910, in Barbour County. She was a resident of the Salem community north of Skipperville before moving to Ozark in 1987. Mrs. Hagler was a member of Salem Baptist Church and a former member of Ridgecrest Baptist Church. She had been a resident of Hartford Healthcare for the past four years. She was preceded in death by her parents, the Rev. F.M. and Clara Helms Shirah; her husband of 72 years, Waldon Harvey Hagler; sisters, Evie Dominey, Gusta Helms, Lois Hardy and Eva Helms; brothers, Mancil Shirah, Marlin Shirah, Murray Shirah and Cleveland Shirah; two grandsons, Jeff Hagler and David Hagler; her daughter-in-law, Ruth Arrington Hagler. Survivors include three sons, Wilmer Hagler of Columbus, Ga., Don Hagler and wife Gail of Hartford, Harvey Hagler and wife, Merle, of Dothan; five grandchildren, Jody Edge (Tony) of Delonaga Ga., Jenny Merritt (Mark) of Columbus, Greg Hagler of Hartford, Karl Hagler (Elaine) of Florence, and Sherry Snell (Brent) of Dothan; eight great-grandchildren, several nieces and nephews; sisters-in-law, Kate Reynolds of Hendersonville, N.C. and Dorothy Hagler of Lake City, Fla. The family would like to thank Hartford Healthcare and Wiregrass Hospice for the special care given during the years she was a resident. Holman Funeral Home of Ozark, (334) 774-5348, is in charge of arrangements.