Sheila Victoria Colton

She was born on February 19th, 1953 in Dallas, TX where she lived briefly as a small child. Her family then settled down in Maryland where she lived until 2005. Sheila dropped out of Bladensburg High School to take care of her first son, Edward Elliott JR, whom she had with her first husband of 3 years, Edward Elliott, SR at age 16, but successfully acquired her GED and later earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland. This accomplishment represented her strength, tenacity and determination to create a better life. In her early days, she worked her way through college as a bartender at the Fraternal Order of Police in Washington, D.C. among other area restaurants.

In 1980, she met her second husband, Daniel Colton and the couple moved to Silver Spring, MD. There, they had their first child together, P. Zachary Colton in 1986 and gained custody of Daniel’s first son, Jason Colton. The couple soon moved to Potomac, MD where they welcomed their daughter, Julia Susan Colton born in 1988. Sheila’s keen eye for fashion and design was brought to life through her interior design ideas as well as when she worked as a Carlisle clothing representative for some years. With Carlisle, Sheila turned a couple home rooms into a retail store during different seasons and sold high end clothing to clients. Through Daniel’s real estate development ventures, the family experienced great success traveling the world and owning a second property in Palm Beach, FL.

After divorce, Sheila moved to Scottsdale, AZ in 2005 where she enjoyed dessert living. Sheila created many meaningful friendships in Arizona and left lasting impressions on many friends and acquaintances. She briefly worked for the US Census Bureau canvassing neighborhoods to acquire accurate information from citizens. Sheila was a vital and active part of the Alcoholics Anonymous program and she always sung the praises of the positive influence the “AA” program had on her life. Though she had her moments of weakness, Sheila was able to maintain her sobriety for decades of her adult life which was beyond commendable given the challenges she faced. With her lung health deteriorating, Sheila moved closer to family in Raleigh, NC 2022 where she lived out her remaining days.

Friends and family remember Sheila as a person who loved life and wanted to experience it to the fullest. She was compassionate, intelligent, beautiful, and adventurous. When she was not busy passionately expressing her heartfelt political views, she enjoyed golf (had a hole in one!), travel, crosswords, mahjong, scrabble, puzzling and was a voracious reader. Sheila loved her family dearly and was extremely proud of her four grandsons and was able to meet her newly born grandson “Archer" Ellis prior to her passing.

Sheila spent more time in her later years focusing on her Christian faith and belief in God through prayer and reading bible passages. Sheila is predeceased by her father Gerald Stokes (2007) and her mother Amelia Shorday Stokes (2002). Surviving family members include brother G. Stephen Stokes (Elaine), sister Susan Stokes Kerley (Tom), children Edward Elliott (Stephanie), P. Zachary Colton (Sarah), and Julia Colton

Ellis (Kavanaugh), grandsons Jack Elliott, Ian Elliott, Noah Elliott, and Kavanaugh “Archer” Ellis. There will be a celebration of Sheila’s life held in Maryland this fall.

Memorial tributes and messages can be left for the family in the “Add a Memory” box below. Brown Wynne of Cary is honored to serve the Elliott and Colton family.