Marie Elizabeth (Calloway) Shipp

Marie Elizabeth Shipp, 94, of Portsmouth, went to be with her Lord and Savior on Friday, June 12, 2020. She was at her home, surrounded by her loving family. Born February 5, 1926, in Lynchburg, VA, she was the daughter of the late Charles and Nannie Carr Calloway, and she was reared by the late Mary Harris.

Marie was a longtime member of Beulah Baptist Church where she was on the Pastor’s Aid Committee and Usher Board. The Lord called Marie to be a healer at an early age. She always desired to be a nurse but was not permitted in the profession because of the color of her skin. Determined to fulfill her calling, she became a nursing assistant and took care of the sick and shut-in of the community and retired from Elmwood Village Nursing Home. She also went on to serve as a midwife, helping Dr. James F. Scott deliver many infants. She was honored with the proclamation of “Marie Shipp Day” by Mayor Franklin Gerlach and she also enjoyed bowling for many years.

Surviving is her husband, Jimmie Lee Shipp, whom she married Nov. 25, 1957 in Portsmouth; three sons, Beaufus (Sharon) Davis, Dennis Lee Shipp and James (Luana Jean) Shipp, all of Portsmouth; a daughter, Margaret (William) Isreal of Dayton; a daughter-in-law, Karen Davis, of Sciotoville; seven grandchildren, Michael Shipp, Ashley Scott, Gennifer Davis, Erin Martin, Brandon Hall, Monica Whitfield and Orlando Thomas; her Godson, Randall Lewis of Portsmouth; many great grandchildren; and two great-great grandchildren.

She was also preceded in death by two children, John Dan Davis and Bureen Davis; seven siblings, Beaufus, Frankie, Spencer, Charlie and Willy Calloway, Evelyn Charles and Lucy Mae Grant; a grandson, Darrin Johnson; and her two best friends, Lillian Mae Johnson and Mary Preston.

Funeral services will be held at 1 P.M. Wednesday at Beulah Baptist Church with Pastor Richard Jordan and Elder Ralph Clay officiating.The family will receive friends at the church one hour prior to services. Interment will be in Scioto Burial Park. Arrangements are under the direction of the Ralph F. Scott Funeral Home in Portsmouth.

Masks will be required for all who attend and will not be provided. Social distancing will be practiced. 

Online condolences may be shared at RalphFScott.com.

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