Deloris Ann Shope

Deloris Ann Moody Shope, age 69 of Robbinsville, NC passed away on November 27, 2024, after a brief illness. 

Deloris, better known as Doobie to her family and the ones closest to her, was born at home in Grainger County, TN on April 4, 1955, to Isaac and Lillian Ruth Jarnigan Moody, the youngest of nine children.

When she was a young child, her family moved to a farm in New Market, TN, where she grew up playing with her many siblings and animals, and rescuing rabbits from the fields so they would not be harmed by farm equipment.  She had a lifelong love for animals and often shared her memories of her Cocker Spaniel Billy Boy, and kitty cats Patches and Smelcer.

Deloris cherished spending time with family and friends and enjoyed music and dancing. In the 70s, one of her favorite weekend pastimes were dancing in the living room along with American Bandstand.  As a young adult, she spent many years as a homemaker and caregiver for her mother, Ruth. Although she had no children of her own, she cared for and doted on many nephews and nieces, often in the capacity of a nanny.

          In 1999, Deloris and some friends attended a dance in Alcoa, TN where she met the love of her life, Ralph Burder Shope.  She soon decided to leave behind the life she knew in Tennessee and make a new life with him in Robbinsville, NC.  

Deloris and Ralph married in 2001. Together they adopted her little dog, Sunshine.  In the latter years of their marriage, they lived together at Graham Healthcare residence home, where Deloris continued to live after Ralph passed. During her time in the community at Graham, Deloris developed many rich friendships, enjoyed a vibrant social life, and discovered joy in reading.

Deloris loved the Lord.  She and Ralph often attended church services, and she delighted in attending gospel concerts, which she called ‘singings’.  She spoke often of how she’d been blessed by Jesus and how he helped her every day.

She is preceded in death by her parents, brothers Wayne Moody and Fain Moody, sister Elsie Hillard, and her loving husband of 18 years, Ralph Shope.  

She is survived by brothers Lester Moody, Dean Moody, and Sam Moody, sisters Pauline Hodge and Louise Chandler, and 13 nephews and nieces.

While we are deeply saddened by the loss of Deloris, we rejoice in knowing she is finally home with Jesus and her missed loved ones who passed before, whom she longed to be with again.

Funeral services will be held at 1:30 pm, Sunday, December 8, 2024, in the Townson-Smith Chapel. The Reverend Patrick O’Dell will officiate. The family will receive friends from 12:00 noon to 1:30 pm prior to the service. Committal Service will be held at Lower Yellow Creek cemetery following the funeral.

Townson-Smith Funeral Home is honored to be serving the Shope family. An online register is available at www.townson-smithfuneralhome.com