Shirley Church Sindelar

6/29/1946 - 01/29/2023

Shirley Church Sindelar passed away on January 29, 2023 in Fairfax,Virginia at the age of 76. Born in Washington, DC June 6, 1946, to James Claude and Helen Elizabeth (Greene) Church, Shirley was raised and lived the majority of her life in the small rural community of Watson, Virginia in Loudoun County.

Shirley was a 1964 graduate of Loudoun County High School, where she was a majorette, band member, played the oboe, and was a stellar student.

From the very young age of 10, Shirley could be found behind the counter of the J.C. Church General Merchandise Store, a staple of the Watson and eastern Loudoun rural communities. Shirley began running the General Merchandise Store located on Watson Road near Aldie, Virginia in 1982 when she called it and as it was known to the local community and passers-by as "Church's Store".

Shirley was a highly regarded economic analyst with the U.S. Department of Agriculture before leaving federal service to run Church's Store. Shirley brought with her a fierce commitment to hard work, the local community, historical preservation, and politics, even having run unsuccessfully for the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors. In recent years, no casual conversation even about groceries or the price of oranges could pass without some well healed and pointed lesson about how that price was determined, why it might go up, might go down, and how that orange got from the fields to the local market. It really didn't matter if all you were after was a grocery list that included oranges, you found yourself verbally transported to some orchard in Florida surrounded by orange trees.

Long a steward to the family farm known as Churchland Farm on Evergreen Mill Road, after much back and forth with the county over their need of a single county landfill, and her want to preserve the family farm and its history, Shirley took eventual pride in identifying herself as the woman who gave Loudoun County its first landfill. Churchland Farm is today the Loudoun County landfill.

Shirley loved history, old buildings, preservation, and country music. She took seriously being part of the community of old General Stores in Loudoun where she often spoke of others like, Pangle's Store, Partlow Bros. Country Store and others in western Loudoun and their importance to preserving the rural communities and an important history in Loudoun County. For years she organized and hosted the annual Church's Store picnic in June to welcome neighbors on Watson Road and other friends.  The annual picnic was a much anticipated and wonderful time with live music, great food, and catching up with old friends. Among many things, it became a 'must attend' event for any local politician needing to gladhand or be seen. The late Senator Charles Waddell was known to appear and sing a song or two.

Shirley was preceded in death by her longtime companion Robert 'Bob' Lawrence. She is survived by her adopted son, Claude Joseph (CJ) Church. There will be an announced Celebration of Life at a later date.