Obituary of E.E. Shelton

Ellis Eugene Shelton, Sr., age 75, passed from this life on August 9, 2009, after a battle with cancer. He was born December 21, 1933, at Lonoke, AR, to Oliver Monroe Shelton and Mary Esther (Jones) Shelton. He was preceded in death by his parents, one sister, Sue Kerns, two brothers, Monroe Shelton and Stanley Scott (Sonny) Shelton. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Allene (Hosey) Shelton, one daughter, Cindy & Rick Stout, Edmond, OK; five sons, Eugene & Liz Shelton, Amarillo, TX; Scott Shelton, Oklahoma City; Van & Jill Shelton, Canyon, TX; Stan (Monte) & Dawn Shelton, Oklahoma City, and Tyson Shelton, Redland Community. He is also survived by 14 grandchildren, five great grandchildren and one sister, Bernice Pounders, Little Rock, AR. After an early career in sales, he moved to Redland in 1964 and operated Shelton’s Redland Store for 29 years. An avid volunteer, he served many organizations including 4-H, Haworth School Board, Rural Water District #1 Board, McCurtain County Sheriff Reserves, Southeast McCurtain County Chamber of Commerce, Redland Cemetery Board (overseer for 30 years) and the McCurtain County Jail Trust. He was named the 1994 SE Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year. Most of all, he served the Lord with all of his heart, soul, mind and strength. An elder for Redland Church of Christ, he demonstrated servant-leadership to his family, church and community by doing whatever was needed including teaching Bible class, visiting the distressed, conducting weddings and funerals, and most recently, leading the project to expand the church building. He was also passionate about baseball and loved to watch many other sports on television. Shortly after moving to Redland, he organized the Redland Reds Little League Baseball team and was instrumental in establishing the Redland/Haworth Ball Park which is now part of Haworth Public Schools. For 30 years, he coached baseball and also became a certified umpire for little league, pony league and high school. In a 1993 newspaper article chronicling his years as an umpire, he said, “If you feel like you have done some good, that is worth more than any money.” The family sincerely thanks and feels truly blessed by many friends for their care, concern and prayers, especially Virginia and Sharlette and the staff at Hospice Center. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Redland Cemetery Fund c/o Rusty Farley HC 73 Box 260 Haworth, Ok 74740 or the Redland Church of Christ Building Fund, P.O. Box 310, Haworth, OK 74740.