TL Shelton

TL Shelton 95, Honorable Veteran of World War II was born on October 20, 1925 in McAlester, Oklahoma and died on January 3, 2021 in Moreno Valley, CAlifornia. TL was preceded in death by his parents Thomas and Lela Shelton, brothers Lloyd and Bobby Shelton, sister Beulah Shelton Goff, wife Doris Shaddox Shelton, sons Larry and Roger Shelton, daughter Linda Shelton and granddaughter Laurie Shelton. He is survived by his brothers Vernon, Donnie, Ronnie, sons Robert (Sharon) and John (Lisa) Shelton and granddaughters Shari, Julie, Shannon, Megan, Shawn, Beth, grandson Ryan (Christy) Shelton and 14 great grand children.

He was the oldest of seven children. He was raised in McAlester and moved to Seagrave, TX as a teenager. He left the 7th grade to work and help support his family. They moved to the area of Tucson, AZ for awhile and then on to Imperial Valley, CA. He said, he worked at any job there was to help support the family and the worse was picking cotton. They moved up to the Modesto, CA area to work in the crops. And back to Pima, AZ where he was drafted into the US Army at the age of 18.

He served in World War II from 1944 to 1946. On His 19th birthday he was on an amphibian boat and landed on the Island of Leyte in the Philippines.. He was awarded a Purple Heart and the Bronze Star and a Presidential Unit Citation for bravery. He really enjoyed going to the school classrooms and sharing his experiences with the students. He always encouraged the students to get their High School diploma, that he did not have. To his surprise on Nov. 12, 2014 the Moreno Valley Unified School District awarded him an Honorary High School Diploma with a CAp and gown graduation ceremony. He was so proud of that Diploma.

Upon being honorably discharge at the end of the War, he returned to the Modesto, CA. area and his best friend Ray Shaddox introduced him to his sister Doris. He and Doris were married on August 15, 1947 in Ceres, CA. They returned to Imperial Valley where he worked for the Imperial District for a short period of time before working for the Imperial County Road Department as a heavy equipment operator. He earned the reputation as the best blade operator they ever had at that time. He moved his family to Mira Loma, CA. where he was employed by Riverside County Road Dept as heavy equipment operator. He retired from Riverside County as a Road Crew Foreman on January 17, 1986.

He loved God and his family very much. He served as a Deacon at Mira Loma, Pedley and Moreno Valley Assembly of God churches. He spent a lot of time at the churches making repairs and rarely missed a service.

He worked very hard to provide for his family. He loved his family and friends. And there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for them. He loved to visit family and friends. Even at 95 yrs old he was still driving and always gone to visit someone. His favorite pass time was watching the Hallmark movies. He was happiest when he was in a crowd of family and friends. He never met a stranger.

Grandkids, nieces and nephews have said they are going to really miss those phone CAlls or texts on their birthdays and anniversaries. He CArried a CAlendar with him so he wouldn’t miss any ones special day.