Jerry Shelton

Jerry N. Shelton Born April 3, 1935, in Corsicana, TX, and passed away January 1, 2024, at the age of 88 in Corsicana. He was preceded in death by his mother Hester Caroline Nelson Shelton and father, Arvel Shelton. He had one brother Nelson R. Shelton, who also preceded him in death. He is survived by his wife Jeri Louise Shelton, and they would have celebrated their 50th anniversary this coming June. They made their home on about 200 acres in Chatfield, TX. He and Jeri owned and retired from their three bail bond businesses in Corsicana. He is also survived by his 3 sons, Lynn, James, and Darrell Shelton as well as two stepdaughters Cari Watts and Barbi Loftis. He was blessed with 13 grandchildren and 28 great grandchildren. He was raised in Kerens Texas where he graduated high school, played sports, and was a captain on the football team his senior year. He always did what it took to take care of his family with numerous jobs as a young husband and father. He worked the oilfields of West Texas, worked a pipeline in New York, and drove a truck to nearly every state in the U.S. Jerry took multiple other jobs to make ends meet, including serving six years in the Army National Guard. He was a man of great entrepreneurial spirit. While having a regular job as a truck driver at Tom’s Peanut for many years he always had multiple side jobs. From owning The Bug Shop where he specialized in working on Volkswagens and building dune buggies, to the backhoe business he started. That backhoe service turned into a dozer service which he partnered with his good friend Jim Hodge. He also owned a water and oil well drilling service, owned numerous oil and gas wells, and owned numerous rent houses. All those years always included owning and renting land to raise cows, owning tractors and baling hay. There was not much he could not do and very little he was afraid to do. Without a doubt, the accomplishment he was most proud of was being the elected Sheriff of Navarro County. His hobbies included hunting and fishing. He flew his airplane to Alaska to fish and traveled to Africa to hunt with one of his sons and grandson. Perhaps his greatest hobby was his love of airplanes. He owned and operated a large hangar service at the Corsicana airport, loved to buy and sell airplanes, and truly enjoyed his affiliation with the local Commemorative Air Force Squadron at the airport. He was quick to make friends, loved people and laughter, and worked hard his entire life. He used his life skills to help others, never backed down when he thought he was right and could be trusted with a simple handshake. He truly was a man of many talents, always tried to do what was right and quick to argue his politics. He had an opportunity to see multiple parts of the world and did a full-on side handstand on the flagpole atop the Empire State Building. He lived a colorful and productive life and will be greatly missed by those who knew and loved him. Please join us with a celebration of life at the Chatfield Community Center Saturday January 6 at 1pm.

Jerry Shelton

April 3, 1935 - January 1, 2024