Genevieve was born in Prescott, Arizona. Parents were Kester J. & Genevieve Billingsley, who homesteaded land 10 miles north of Congress Junction in 1908 and developed it into the O Bar 7 Ranch, which had cattle and sheep. Genevieve lived the first 20 years of her life at this ranch. She had two older sisters, Fay & Virginia, and one brother Bud. She attended grade school in the one room schoolhouse in Congress Junction and graduated at the age of 12. She attended high school at Wickenburg High for 4 years. She went to college at Tempe College (ASU now) in the winter months and went to Flagstaff College (NAU now) in the summer. Unfortunately, her senior year the family couldn't afford the tuition (no college loans were in existence at that time).
She married Henry F. Shelton August 24, 1940, and they had a daughter, Rita, on February 25, 1944. They lived in Wickenburg until January 1958 and then moved to Phoenix. Genevieve and Henry had a contracting company and they were awarded a contract with Del Webb to build the first 5 golf courses for Sun City. In 1969 they moved to Sun City and became quite active in golf and tennis.
Genevieve loved to dance and so she joined a clogging dance group and performed all around Sun City. She loved to play bridge and became quite good at it. She and Henry loved to travel and they visited quite a few countries. Henry passed away in 1996 and Rev. Dennis Ramsey, with Lakeview United Methodist Church did the memorial services. Since Henry and Genevieve had so many friends, the sanctuary was quite full.
Genevieve met Dean H. Turner in August of 1997 on a church bus trip to Colorado. They found they had a lot in common, like playing bridge and ballroom dancing. They married on February 14, 1998. Unfortunately, Genevieve had a stroke in December of 2005 that took away her ability to communicate or understand most of the time. Dean was really good with her and tried to keep her active by going to church, socializing with friends and family gatherings. When Dean died in June of 2010, Genevieve went into assisted living at Royal Oaks and then into the Friendship House at Royal Oaks.
Genevieve was a member of Lakeview United Methodist Church and is survived by daughter Rita and husband Bill Phillips; grandchildren Deborah Nelson and Boyden Phillips and wife Amy; four great grandchildren, Bryan Nelson and Emily, Sarah, Megan Phillips and one nephew Gerald Wacker.
Please feel free to leave memories and condolences to the family via this website.
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