Virginia Ellis Shelton

Virginia Ellis Shelton of Eustis, Florida, formerly of Umatilla, Florida, passed from this life on Wednesday, March 6, 2019 at the age of 94. She is survived by her children, Pat Sykes-Amos of Umatilla and Jeffrey Shelton (Jessica) of Portland, Oregon; grandchildren Paul Sykes (Jennifer) of Oveido, Edward Amos of West Palm Beach, Tyne Amos of Wilmore, KY and Sarah Shelton of Portland, OR; great grandsons Dillon, Troy and Logan Sykes; brother John Ellis (Carolyn) of Jacksonville and sister Esther Crane (Jim) of Yulee. She was predeceased by her son, Lawrence David, and husband of fifty years, JC. Virginia glowed when speaking of her family as all are saved by the Lord Jesus Christ and are active in their respective church families. Virginia was born in Indiana July 11, 1924 to Foster and Evalyn Ellis. She moved to Florida at the age of 2 after her father announced he was not living through another snow storm! She graduated from high school in Callahan, Florida at the age of 15 as she skipped third, fifth and seventh grades. She attended Brewton-Parker Baptist Junior College. When World War II began, she left college to work for Western Union as a trouble shooter and traveled throughout the United States. While working in San Francisco, she met her future husband who was stationed there in the Navy. She was living in New York City at the end of WW II and saw the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth steam up the Hudson loaded with returning soldiers. After the war, she returned to her home in Jacksonville, Florida. She married J C Shelton on March 6, 1947. After her children were of school age, she returned to the work force. She served for twenty one years as a patient representative at University Hospital becoming the manager of the department. After JC's retirement, they fulfilled JC's dream of a place on a lake by moving to Umatilla in 1979 to be joined by daughter Pat and her family who built a home next door. This allowed her to spend time with the Umatilla grandchildren on a daily basis and attend their activities. Virginia became active in the community by volunteering at the local schools, joining the Umatilla Women's Club, and serving as prayer coordinator for the Lake County Baptist Association. She wrote and published a forty year history of the Lake County Baptist Association. She began teaching Sunday School at age 24 and taught every age level from kindergarten to senior adults and continued until a couple months prior to her death. One of the happiest times of her life was teaching the LIFE senior adult class. She dearly loved each member and prayed for them by name. When she was physically unable to come to the class, she asked about teaching via a telephone hookup in the classroom. Virginia loved to travel and was proud to let folks know she had visited all fifty states. Virginia lived a simple but happy life enjoying her family, her church and most of all her God. She would want us to be rejoicing with her now and celebrating a life spent serving God. Family visitation will be Saturday, March 23, 2019 at 1:30 at First Baptist Church of Umatilla followed by a celebration of Virginia's life at 2:00 PM.

Virginia Ellis Shelton

July 11, 1924 - March 6, 2019