Shirley Lane Whitley Gouge

Shirley Lane Whitley Gouge, 85, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, passed away on March 8, 2026. Born on June 28, 1940, in Monroe, Georgia, she was the daughter of the late Joseph Marlin Whitley Sr. and Marguerite Sandling Whitley. She grew up between Monroe and the east Metro Atlanta area, graduating from Southwest DeKalb High School in 1958.

Shortly after beginning work at Continental Insurance Company in Atlanta, Shirley met Eddie Gouge at Jack’s Hamburgers Drive-In on Memorial Drive in Stone Mountain. Their love story lasted 67 years. They married on April 3, 1959, first living in Pine Lake before moving to Stone Mountain in 1967, where they made their home for the next 58 years.

A longtime member of First Baptist Church of Stone Mountain, Shirley taught Sunday School for three-year-olds alongside Ms. Myrtice McCurdy and sang in the choir. She was deeply involved in her children’s education, serving as an active PTA parent at Stone Mountain Elementary School and later working in the school cafeteria, where her from-scratch cooking and exceptional desserts were beloved by family and students alike. She continued working in the cafeteria at Jolly Elementary School after her own children graduated. Her holiday meals were always special occasions filled with love and flavor.

Shirley was a devoted daughter to her parents, supporting them throughout their lives. She inherited her father’s love of plants and developed a remarkable green thumb, successfully growing vegetables and flowers for many years. She showed that same steadfast loyalty and care to her husband and sons. An animal lover, she cherished her family pets, especially Chico, Arnie, Rusty, and Sasha, and faithfully tended feeders for songbirds and hummingbirds. She was active as a Jaycette, served as Team Mom for her husband’s Little League teams, and was always ready to help older neighbors in her Stone Mountain community. For decades, she looked forward to the family’s annual trip during the third week of June to the Stone Mountain Invitational Golf Tournament in Daytona Beach, Florida.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her husband, Grady Edward “Eddie” Gouge.

Shirley is survived by her brother, Joseph “Joe” Marlin Whitley Jr. and his wife Vivian Dunn Whitley of Cumming; her sons, Glenn Edward Gouge and his wife Jodie Lea Cramer Gouge of Woodstock, and David Preston Gouge and his wife Kimberly Ann Martin Gouge of Lilburn; her grandson, Preston Taylor Gouge; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.