William Newton Shelton Sr.

He was born to Chester Benton Shelton and Agnes (Sullivan) Shelton on February 7, 1922 in Butte, Montana. He graduated from Boys Central Catholic High School in Butte in 1939.

Bill was very proud of his career with Texaco, which lasted from 1939 until his retirement as Credit Manager in 1981(Texaco having credited him for his time served with the Army during World War II). During World War II he served with the US Army from December 1942 to December 1945 in Northern France, Rhineland, and Central Europe. He was very proud of his honorable service in the Army and would often show off his honorable discharge card.

He married Dorothy Cronin at St. John’s Catholic Church in Butte on June 17, 1947, and they were married for over 67 years. Dorothy would often say she was “lucky for having married such a great man!”

With Texaco he moved with his family from Butte, Montana to Seattle, Washington in 1961, then to Los Angeles from 1969 to 1971, to Portland from 1971 to 1976, and back to Los Angeles from 1976 to 1980. In 1981 they moved to their retirement home in Tigard, where they were still living at the time of Bill’s passing.

In retirement Bill loved to garden and take care of his flowers. He also enjoyed weekly trips to Spirit Mountain Casino, and loved driving his car and daily afternoon rides around Tigard. He was known as the man to fix virtually anything. He and Dorothy faithfully rode their 1989 Huffy exercise bike (even the day before he passed), and kept a daily log of miles…currently over 150,000!

Bill would say that his greatest accomplishments in life were his marriage (still introducing Dorothy as his “bride”), his seven children, and being Papa to thirteen grandchildren and Great-Papa to seven great-grandchildren. His greatest heartache came with losing his two daughters, Janice Elizabeth Rostal and Mary Patricia Umphress.

He will be missed by his wife Dorothy Patricia Shelton of Tigard;

son William “Bill” Shelton, Jr and wife Linda of Tigard, daughter Donalee Worsley and husband Bob of Tigard, daughter Dorothy Ann Hatala and husband Mark of Portland, son Daniel Shelton and wife Theresa of Tigard, and daughter Susanne Walter and husband Steve of Portland;

grandchildren Neal, Kevin, and Steven Umphress, Ben and Jon Worsley, Max Hatala, Lindsey and David Rostal, Brittany, Bonnie, and Brenda Shelton, and Maggie and Emily Walter; great-grandchildren Carter and Payton Umphress, Jacob and Maiya Umphress, and J.J., Ellie, and Andrew Worsley.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:30 AM on Friday, December 5, 2014 at St. Anthony Catholic Church, 9905 SW McKenzie in Tigard. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations in Bill’s memory be made to the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, or a charity of choice.