Shelly Ellerbe James

Mrs. Shelly "Arnetia" Ellerbe James, the baby daughter of the late Raymond Ellerbe, Sr. and Kessie Haywood Ellerbe, was born December 6, 1944, in Mount Gilead, Montgomery County, North Carolina. She departed this life to join the Lord on October 18, 2014.

Shelly received her education in Richmond County Schools and graduated from Mineral Springs High School in Ellerbe, NC in 1963. She moved to Brooklyn, New York in 1965 and lived with her sister Isabella Medley for a short while. In 1966, she was united in Holy Matrimony to Frederick James, Jr. and they settles in Brooklyn, New York, where they were blessed with four beautiful daughters.

Shelly was a full-time housewife for most of her life. As a matter of fact, she was the main disciplinarian; yet, she also shared her love for plants, gardening, cooking, and her great sense of humor with her children. As her children aged, she began working full-time as a Service Manager at Sears Service Center in Brooklyn. She worked with Sears until her retirement in 1995, and then relocated back to North Carolina, where she settled in Raleigh with her husband. In Raleigh, she was employed part-time with the North Carolina Department of Revenue for two years.

Shelly embraced God during her youth as a member in the Oliver Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Mt. Gilead, NC, and although she belonged to a few different churches throughout her life, she was a deeply spiritual person and remained always faithful to the Lord. Her main temple of worship was usually in her home kitchen where she would sit during the early morning hours reciting verses from the Holy Bible. She taught her children to always put God first, and so she would demonstrate this by performing her prayers first thing every morning. She would often read the following verses from the Holy Bible:

I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. (Psalm 18:1-2)

The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul; He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me; Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23)

Shelly leaves behind to cherish and honor her memory, her husband of forty-eight years, Mr. Frederick James, Jr.; four daughters: Mrs. Arnetia James Sidi-Abed of Fredericksburg, Virginia; Ms. Valerie James-Ragsdale of Wildwood, Missouri; Ms. Tamara James of Harrison, New Jersey; and Ms. Fredena James of Raleigh, North Carolina; one brother, Mr. Luke Ellerbe.