Donald Keith Shelley

Donald K. Shelley, 78, formerly of Kokomo, passed away February 24th, at home in Mesa, Arizona. Born March 16, 1939, Lebanon, IN, he was one of nine children and became deaf at the age of 5 after surviving spinal meningitis. He attended the Indiana School for the Deaf, where he participated in track and football. When he was 12, he met the love of his life, Rosemary, for whom he would hitchhike from Frankfort to East Indy to see. After ten years of on and off dating, they wed on June 30, 1962 in Buck Creek Chapel in Indianapolis. He was on several bowling leagues and was a weekend fisherman in his younger days. He remodeled his house, rewiring the electrical lines, repairing and replacing the shingles on the roof and helping friends with their home projects. He built a shed behind his house for his tools, etc., from the ground up. He is a former member of the Eagles and retired from Haynes International in 1997. He had a penchant for gardening flowers, many of which ended up in a vase on the table for his beloved wife. Albeit a quiet man, he had a great sense of humor. Don also loved camping, sitting on his porch, word searches, online catalogs, A&W root beer, instant coffee, Klondike Bars, ice cream sandwiches, and most snacks of the processed variety. Not necessarily in that order. He also hated salads and being told what to do. He spent the last years with his daughter in Arizona and lived in the flight path of Phoenix Harbor Airport and would watch planes arriving all day. He had traveled to the ocean in California. Surviving are his children: Mary Elizabeth Rother, Leslie (Tammy) Shelley, and Keith Shelley, grandchildren: Allison, Derek (Stephanie), Zenas, and Katelyn, great grandchildren: Alexis, Joseph, Brennan, Esme and Orion, and Edward, and his siblings: William, Michael, and Denise. Preceded in death by: wife of nearly 50 years, Rosemary, his parents, Richard and Levernia Shelley, his siblings, Margaret, Marilyn, Joyce, Judi, and Richard Jr., grandson, Vincent Lee, and great grandsons Michael and Lucas. A gathering of friends and family will be held from 10:30-2:30 at Sunset Memory Garden, 2097 W. Alto Road, Kokomo, IN 46902.