Ted Edward Shelton, Sr., died Friday, Oct. 25, 2019, from pneumonia. He was 89.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, at Victory Life Church in Brownwood, under the direction of Heartland Funeral Home.
A lifetime resident of Brown County, Ted was born Nov. 6, 1929, at Medical Arts Hospital in Brownwood. He was the youngest son of Joseph Robert and Callie Fuqua Shelton. Ted lived most of his life at the site of Shelton Bros. Dairy in the same farmhouse he grew up in. Ted graduated from Brownwood High School in 1948 and attended Howard Payne College.
He is survived by his wife, Martha Hurlbut Shelton, with whom he celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary this summer on June 10, surrounded by his children and extended family.
Ted Sr. is also survived by daughter Marcy Shelton Nicklas of Denton, TX, son Ted Jr. and daughter-in-law Mary Lee Bailey Shelton of Mesilla, NM, five grandchildren, Martie Nicklas Ewing, Emily Nicklas Creamer, Chris Shelton, Paige Shelton Sharp, and Spencer Shelton; four great-grandchildren, Brett Pohlmeyer, Trevor Rodney Haire, Harlan Haire and Ella Ewing, and many loving nieces, nephews and friends. His beloved son-in-law, Jim Nicklas, preceded him in death.
A metalsmith and artist, Ted. Sr. was known for his vibrant Texas wildflower paintings on untraditional canvases, sand castings and entrepreneurial endeavors. Ted and Martha owned Shelton Mfg. and Supply from the 1950s to 1970s, and the Shelton Little House Art and Gifts in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1968 Ted was the first director of Brownwood’s Janie Clements Sheltered Workshop.
Ted and Martha are members of Victory Life Church.
Ted was an active member of the Brownwood Art Association. He was named Artist of the Year in 2008 in appreciation for his outstanding service to the Brownwood art community.
The dynamic duo of Ted and Martha traveled Texas and New Mexico to share their Texas wildflower talents with art venues including the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, The Dona Ana Arts Council Renaissance Craftfaire in Las Cruces, NM, the Designer Showcase in Fort Worth, and the Brownwood Feels Like Home festival. Ted and Martha traveled to Northern New Mexico where Ted was the featured artist in the La Fonda Gallery in Santa Fe and Gallery A in Taos where Ted’s sand castings were on display.
Ted exhibited a generous spirit over the years with prolific bread-baking, deep-fryer cooking for crowds and countless paintings given in love. His most recent contribution to the arts was 40 hand-painted shirts for Club Rotario Juarez Campestre in Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. The all-female club has worn their shirts all over Mexico, and in Canada, India, Latvia and South Africa.
The family extends special thanks to Senior Care Center and Ted’s special caregivers Shanna Santos and Carmen Galvan.
Memorials in Ted’s honor may be made to the Fragile X Research fund in tribute to their grandson Spencer Teague Shelton at https://give.ucdavis.edu/MIND/FXBAILE, Victory Life Church or the Brownwood Art Association.
Condolences, memories and tributes can be offered to the family online at heartlandfuneralhome.net
