Shirley "Shirl" Melton

Shirley was born on May 9, 1936, in Stoutsville, Missouri, as the fifth of seven children, to Fredrick Arnum White and Elsie Mae Woods White. She grew up in a tight-knit family on a farm outside of Colusa, Illinois. After graduating from Colusa High School in 1954 as Salutatorian, and recipient of the Daughters of the American Revolution Award, Shirley started her career in bookkeeping, which paved the way to her future success in the business world.

On February 9, 1958, Shirley married her high school friend, neighbor, and love of her life, James “Jim” Robert Melton. The couple soon settled in Des Moines, Iowa. Shirley worked for the State of Iowa Department of Agriculture, until she joined her husband in building a series of businesses, the culmination of which was Chem-Tech, Ltd. She served for 25 years as Vice President of Chem-Tech, a highly respected formulator and manufacturer in the agricultural chemical industry. With her unwavering patriotic spirit, Shirl was forever proud of their made-in-America products.

Shirley and Jim raised two daughters and were actively devoted members of St. John’s United Methodist Church. They spent cherished time with their families in Illinois, and with their friends and neighbors from the Iowa Air National Guard, Echo Valley Country Club, and St. John’s Church.

Shirley enjoyed playing tennis and bridge with her friends and was an avid St. Louis Cardinals baseball fan. With a keen interest in geography, she never said no to a travel adventure, especially with Jim in his Cessna, and with her daughters for her annual birthday trip. She found great joy in admiring the beauty of flowers, the lushness of midwestern fields, and the glory of the moon. Shirley’s happy place was her beautiful home that she and Jim built together on Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri, where she graciously hosted family and friends. To know Shirley, was to love her. She endeared herself to all she met with her sincerity, integrity, generosity, understated elegance, words of wisdom, and wit.

Shirley was preceded in death by her husband, grandson Bennett James Rolfes, parents, sisters: Neva Faye Coates, Doris Mae Bolton, and Elsie Geraldine Hackett, and brothers: Alfred Eugene White and Harold Arnum White.

She is survived by her daughters Kelle Melton Rolfes (Patrick) and Angela Melton Thalgott (John), four grandchildren: Madeline Rolfes Banas, John Francis Rolfes, Emma Melton Thalgott, and Julian Asher Thalgott, her brother Merle Stanley White, and many beloved nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held on Saturday, December 7, 11:00 am, at Lutheran Church of Hope Chapel, 925 Jordan Creek Pkwy, West Des Moines, Iowa, 50266.

Memorial contributions may be made to John Stoddard Cancer Center of Des Moines, Lake Regional Health System of Osage Beach, MO, Lutheran Church of Hope of West Des Moines, or a charitable organization close to your heart.

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