“It is the heart that does the giving; the fingers only let go” is an old saying that aptly describes Shelby Jean Campbell, who died Dec. 13.

A Stoney Creek resident, Mrs. Campbell died after a brief battle with lung cancer. In her 81 years she had done a lot of giving, especially to her family and friends. She didn’t live to make a name for herself, just to be a good daughter, mother, grandmother, neighbor and friend.

“She lived a quiet life, but she would give you the shirt off her back if she thought you needed it,” said her daughter, Jeannie Pierce. “She was a good mother and grandmother. She truly loved her family and took good care of them.”

Mrs. Campbell was the mother of three children, Jeannie, Donnie, and Terry, who preceded her in death. Additionally, she had five grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, and one great-great-granddaughter.

Jeannie said her mother enjoyed being outside and working in her garden. “She enjoyed the warm days of spring and summer and watching things grow. She was also a homemaker. She kept her house spotless and when we came home from school or work, she always had a meal on the table. My mother enjoyed taking care of her family,” said Jeannie.

Some of her favorite things to do, especially when the weather got cold outside, was working jigsaw puzzles and coloring. “She loved the adult coloring books,” said Jeannie. When Mrs. Campbell colored a page, she often would sign it and date it.

When she worked a puzzle, she glued the pieces together on cardboard and kept them. “She had over 200 puzzles she had pieced and glued to make pictures,” said Jeannie. “I suppose nature scenes, churches, and country scenes were her favorites, but she loved all puzzles.

“During the last few months of her life, she would ask us to put the end pieces together for her, to get it started, and she would fill in with the other pieces,” said Jeannie.

Mrs. Campbell also enjoyed wind chimes, usually collecting them from places she visited. She also enjoyed listening to music by the Hopper Family and the Bill Gaither singers. “She attended several Hopper Family concerts,” said Jeannie.

She also enjoyed attending church and did so regularly until her health began to fail her. Her home church was Moore’s Chapel Free Will Baptist Church.

Another favorite thing she enjoyed was helping Jeannie’s husband, Steve, make beef jerky.

“My mother was a good person and had a good, full life. She didn’t travel a lot nor wanted a lot. She was content doing for her family and friends. I was blessed to have her as a mother,” said Jeannie.

Stoney Creek was home to Shelby Jean Campbell and Richardson Cemetery on Stoney Creek is her final resting place.

But, for her family she made beautiful and lasting memories for them. Each day that she lived was the piece to a wonderful life, that is now a picture of a beautiful mother and grandmother.