Fresno – July 20, 1934 – January 7, 2020
“The connections we make in the course of a life—
maybe that’s what heaven is.” --Fred Rogers
Emma Jo Shelton died January 7, 2020, around 4:30 p.m. in Fresno, California. She was 85.
Mrs. Shelton loved gardening, romantic outings, old westerns, collecting antique glassware and
her family. She was born July 20, 1934, in Lavaca, Arkansas, to Jesse Margaret and Elvert L.
Sidney Gantt. At age 12, her family relocated from rural Arkansas to Fresno, California.
She graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1952, working part time at Borrelli’s, where she
convinced folks that her job was making spaghetti by pushing it out of the middle of the
macaroni.
Following graduation, she began working for Pacific Bell Telephone Company (then AT&T),
rising through the ranks into management during her long tenure with the company. Following
her retirement after over 32 years of service, they relocated to Baltimore, Maryland, with PDC
Corporation, where she enjoyed taming and tidying a large garden at her home.
The Sheltons relocated to Fresno, where they remained the rest of their lives. For many years,
Mrs. Shelton served actively in many local and state American Legion Auxiliary positions,
including President.
Through the years, the couple enjoyed time with family and friends entertaining, enjoying their house boat, spending weekends at a mountain cabin and travelling in their motor home. Most who knew them would describe them as fun!
She met Reginald Dale Shelton at Pacific Bell, and they married in Reno, Nevada on May 17, 1958. Theirs was an enviable love, post-dating her beloved Dale’s passing after 57 years of marriage. Mrs. Shelton was a dedicated helpmate, supporting her husband’s adventurous endeavors and caring for him lovingly through his extended life-ending illness. She never fully recovered from her grief, and anxiously awaited their reunion in paradise.
Mrs. Shelton was preceded in death by her husband, Reginald Dale Shelton; her parents, Elvert
L. Sidney Gantt and Jesse Margaret McAbee Gantt; and brothers James Murl, Darrell Howard,
and Danny Mack Gantt.
She is survived by her uncle, Leland Jefferson Gantt of Fort Smith, Arkansas; siblings Doris Sue
McClelland of Fresno, California, Elvert Leslie Gantt of Eureka, California, Robert Clark Gantt of
San Jose, California, Margaret Frances Adams of Oakdale, Louisiana, and Sally Eileen Snyder of
Livermore, California; brothers-in-law, Samuel Adams of Oakdale, Louisiana and William
Shelton of Fresno, California; sister-in-law Connie Gantt of Merced, California; and many nieces,
nephews, great nieces, great nephews and cousins.
A visitation for Emma will be held Friday, January 24, 2020 from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm at Lisle Funeral Home, 1605 L Street, Fresno, CA 93721.
A graveside service will occur Saturday, January 25, 2020 at 12:00 pm at Belmont Memorial Park, 201 N. Teilman Ave, Fresno, CA 93706.
