Shirley Kay Sloan

In Loving Memory of Shirley Kay Sloan

August 8, 1964 – July 29, 2026

Shirley Kay Sloan, 61, a proud Florida native, passed away on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, following a courageous battle with cancer, just ten days before her 62nd birthday.

Shirley was born August 8, 1964, in Jacksonville, Florida, to Sandy Lee Wofford (formerly Sloan; now Lane) and James Everett Sloan. From the age of seven, she was raised by her Mom, Sandy and her Dad, Richard LeRoy Lane Jr.

Shirley grew up on Jacksonville’s Westside and graduated from Nathan Bedford Forrest High School. She also completed hair school at the Westside Skill Center, an early reflection of the creativity that would remain part of her throughout her life.

A lifelong Floridian, Shirley moved to Orange Park in 1995, where she raised her family. After beginning work at Penney Farms Retirement Community in 2006, she moved onto the grounds of the Penney Retirement Community in early 2009, where she lived for several years. In 2018, she purchased her own home in the Town of Penney Farms, putting down roots in a community that had become an important part of both her personal and professional life.

Shirley had a gift for making the world around her more beautiful. A Master Gardener, she loved plants, landscaping and especially bright, colorful flowers. She worked at Cosmo’s Nursery, where her love of gardening was right at home, and from 2006 through 2025 devoted nearly two decades to Penney Farms Retirement Community, where she retired and served over the years as a landscaper, driver and grounds supervisor.

Penney Farms Retirement Community became much more than Shirley’s workplace. It became her second home and her community. She formed lasting friendships with residents and coworkers and left her mark not only on the grounds she cared for, but also on the people whose lives she touched, especially during Covid.

Shirley loved things that were bright, colorful and full of life. She had a special love for dolphins, flamingos and Winnie the Pooh, along with gardening, decorating, animals and the outdoors. She enjoyed the Florida Gators and some of life’s simpler pleasures, including a mini bottled Coca Cola, cold Bud Light or a good margarita.

Her love for animals and nature could be seen all around her home. She leaves behind her beloved cats, Tom and Jerry, but her heart had room for many more. Shirley faithfully fed numerous outdoor cats and loved feeding the hummingbirds and other birds that visited her yard. Her flowers bloomed, her feeders welcomed the birds, and the neighborhood cats knew where they could find a meal.

Shirley was unmistakably herself—strong-willed, independent, colorful and sometimes stubborn. She could make you laugh, make you shake your head, and she certainly wasn’t afraid to let you know what she thought. Those who knew her best knew there were many sides to Shirley, and all of them were part of the woman they loved.

That independent spirit remained with her until almost the very end. Despite the progression of her cancer, Shirley continued living independently in her own home until just four days before her passing. She held tightly to the life she had built and her independence for as long as she possibly could.

Her final months were not easy. Cancer took a tremendous toll, and there were difficult days for Shirley and those closest to her. But those days were only a small part of a much larger life. Cancer may have changed some things at the end, but it does not get to rewrite the story of who Shirley was.

At the center of that story was her family.

Shirley is survived by her sons, Nathan Richard Palmer and Daniel Scott Palmer; her daughters-in-law, Amber Giddens-Palmer and Crystal Palmer; and her former husband and the father of her sons, Darrell Scott Palmer. She is also survived by her beloved grandchildren, Dylan, Mason, Cora and Julien, who knew and loved her as Granny; her mother, Sandy Lee Wofford Lane; her Dad, Richard LeRoy Lane Jr.; her sister-in-law, Robyn Sloan, wife of her late brother John; and her sister, Dawn Marie Lane-Johnson, and her husband, Jude.

Shirley also leaves behind a large and loving extended family of nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins, along with dear friends, former coworkers and the many members of the Cosmos Nursery and Penney Farms community whose lives she touched.

She was preceded in death by her father, James Everett Sloan; her brother, John Everett Sloan; her grandparents, Thomas and Katherine Wofford and Richard and Dolores Lane; her aunt and uncle, Elaine and John Duval; and her cousin, Jason Duval.

There is comfort in believing that when Shirley left this life, she was welcomed into Heaven by the family who had gone before her—her brother John, her biological father Everett, her grandparents, Aunt Kay, Uncle John, Jason and generations of family waiting to welcome her home.

After everything she endured, there is peace in believing that Shirley is now whole again, free from cancer and pain, and surrounded by family and love. And perhaps Heaven has become a little more colorful since Shirley arrived—with brighter flowers, beautiful gardens, hummingbirds fluttering nearby and maybe a dolphin or flamingo somewhere in the distance.

Shirley will be remembered not for cancer or the difficult days at the end, but for 61 years of living—the gardens she tended, the flowers she planted, the homes and grounds she made more beautiful, the animals she cared for, the people whose lives she touched, the family she loved and the grandchildren who called her Granny.

Her life reminds us that making the world a better place doesn’t always happen through grand gestures. Sometimes it happens one flower at a time. Sometimes it is filling a hummingbird feeder, making sure an outdoor cat has something to eat, caring for a community year after year, or simply leaving a place—or a person—a little better than you found them.

Shirley did that in more places and more lives than she probably ever realized.

Fittingly, Penney Farms Retirement Community will dedicate an oak tree in Shirley’s honor, creating a living memorial in the community where she spent nearly two decades working, living, caring for the land and touching the lives of others.

An oak seems especially fitting for Shirley—strong, deeply rooted and enduring. As the years pass, its roots will deepen, its branches will stretch farther, birds will rest among them, and others will find shade beneath them.

It will stand as a quiet reminder that Shirley Kay Sloan was here. She was loved. She made a difference. And she left this world a little more beautiful than she found it.

A Celebration of Life for Shirley will be held on Saturday, August 22, 2026, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the Penney Farms Retirement Golden Rule Dining Hall. Family and friends will gather to share memories, stories, laughter and tears as they celebrate a mother, Granny, daughter, sister, sister-in-law, aunt, cousin, friend and coworker whose life touched so many.

Although 61 years was far too short, what Shirley planted during those years will continue to grow. Her family will carry her forward. Her grandchildren will carry their Granny with them. The flowers will bloom again. The hummingbirds will return. And an oak will grow in a place she spent so many years making beautiful.

May Shirley’s memory, like the gardens she loved and the oak that will carry her legacy, continue to grow and bloom for generations to come.

And if you would like to honor Shirley in your own way, plant a colorful flower, plant a tree, feed the birds or an animal in need—or simply raise a Coca Cola, cold Bud Light or a top shelf margarita in her memory.

Do something that adds a little beauty, kindness or color to the world. Shirley would like that.