When Shirley Douthard Gentry was born on 18 May 1887, in Wilkes, North Carolina, United States, his father, William Martin Gentry, was 34 and his mother, Charity Elizabeth Burcham, was 26. He married Dossie Ann Sebastian in 1908, in United States. They were the parents of at least 6 sons and 3 daughters. He died on 12 December 1970, in North Wilkesboro, Wilkes, North Carolina, United States, at the age of 83, and was buried in Pleasant Home Baptist Church Cemetery, Roaring River, Wilkes, North Carolina, United States.