Doris Shelton

Our beloved mother, Doris Shelton, passed away peacefully on Friday, February 14th
from complications due to Alzheimer’s. She was surrounded by her loving family. Her
kind spirit and happy demeanor will be missed by many.
A memorial service will be held on Thursday, February 20th at McDonald and Son
Funeral Home, 150 Sawnee Drive, Cumming, 30040. Visitation will take place from 9:00
to 10:00 AM, followed by the funeral service.
Doris Jo Martin was born in Scottsboro, Alabama on September 2nd, 1945, to Leonard
Lawrence and Agnes Estelle Martin. Doris was the oldest of seven children. At a young
age, she helped her parents work on the farm. She also helped care for her younger
siblings and cook meals for the family.
Doris attended Scottsboro High School. When she was 14, she met Billy Jack Shelton,
who would become her husband of 53 years.They were married on June 27th, 1963, at
Goosepond Presbyterian Church in Scottsboro. Doris attended a business college
where she became a master of typewriters and written shorthand, which is now a lost
art. The newlyweds bought their first home in Madison, AL with the help of her parents.
That house became a home to Doris, Jack, and their three children. Doris’s first job was
for the Municipal Court in Huntsville, working as a secretary for a judge, before being
promoted to housewife and Mother.
Jack’s work with Vulcan Materials took the family to Sherman and San Antonio, Texas,
before taking them back to Alabama in 1978. The family then moved to Stone Mountain,
GA in 1979. Doris worked in banking as a corporate secretary for Decatur Federal
Bank, and later helped establish and open Decatur First Bank. She volunteered and
served on numerous boards and service projects in and around Decatur. She was
beloved for her positivity and generous heart. She loved the diversity of Decatur, and all
of the people with whom she worked.
Doris loved the beach and loved traveling. She especially cherished family vacations
every summer. She made vacations so special, always ensuring the family could be
together in one house. She also loved spending weekends at Lake Lanier on the
family’s boat, but above all else, she loved spoiling the grandkids that lovingly called her
“Mimi.” She never missed gymnastics meets, ball games, dance recitals or
competitions, or school awards ceremonies and graduations. Sometimes, a few of these
events all happened on the same day. Afterward, there was always a fabulous
home-cooked meal, and no one ever left the house hungry.
She and Jack had many friends in their neighborhood empty nesters group, Sunday
School class at Cumming First United Methodist Church, couples they knew through
work, and her numerous women’s groups that she was a part of. They loved traveling
together to Alabama and University of Georgia football games year after year. They
attended the Georgia-Florida football game with their dear friends, Mark and Kay
Graham for 23 years in a row.
Doris is preceded in death by her husband of 53 years, her parents, her brothers Morris
and Michael, her sisters Sherry and Susan, and her son, Steven Clay Shelton.
Survivors include her sisters, Mitzie (Doug Skiles), and Debbie (Jimmy Weber);
sister-in-laws Carol Raney (Morris) and Kathy Simmons (Michael), daughters, Kippi
(Ron Ragan) and Traci (Yolanda Chu), and grandchildren Kayleigh Elizabeth Farragut,
Taylor Alan Farragut, William Shelton Lanford, Olivia Estelle Lanford, Brady Clay
Shelton, Noah Dean Lanford, Siena Shelton, and Lillie Shelton; and numerous loving
nieces and nephews.
A graveside service will be held in Scottsboro, AL at Goosepond Cemetery on Friday,
February 21st, at 12:00PM CST.