Deacon Bill Shelton died this past Sunday morning. Bill was born in Atlanta, Ga., on June 26, 1947, and was the middle child of Bill and Christine Shelton. He, an older sister, Patsy, and a younger brother, Roger, would spend the better part of their childhood in east Atlanta. Bill was greatly influenced by his sister Patsy to know and love Jesus at the age of 12.
During his teenage life, Bill attended leadership school through the Y.M.C.A. and learned valuable leadership skills with a strong emphasis on Christianity. He attended church regularly and sang in the youth and adult choirs. He graduated from Gordon High School in Decatur, Ga., in 1965. Shortly after graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy.
Bill became a career firefighter/paramedic in 1968, and retired after 41 years of service. On Aug. 30, 1970, he was married to Donna Campbell. They have two grown children, Jonathan (Candi) Shelton and Robin (Tyler) Dimmig. Their four grandchildren are Drew Shelton-Ramos, age 20, Tessa Dimmig, age 9, Elias Shelton, age 8, and Ellery Shelton, age 6.
Deacon Bill served the Lord in several churches throughout his life. He was a deacon in a mega church in Decatur, Ga., and cared for 60 families. He was trained, along with Donna, as Stephen’s Ministers in the Lutheran church.
They joined Christ the King Charismatic Episcopal Church (CEC) in 1997, where Bill became a licensed liturgical minister, lay reader, chalice bearer, member of the worship team, and usher/greeter. He applied for Holy Orders in 1998 and attended classes through St. Michael’s Seminary. In November 2002, Bill was ordained as a permanent deacon in the CEC.
Deacon Bill was a member of the Rector’s Council at The Cathedral of Christ the King in Sharpsburg, Ga., and served the Diocese of the Mid-South as a member of the Commission on Ordained Ministry.
Deacon Bill was certified as a law enforcement chaplain through the state of Georgia Peace Officers Standards and Training Council. He served the Peachtree City Police Department for 10 years in that capacity before declining health forced his retirement. He was a member of the International Conference of Police Chaplains and the Georgia Association of Law Enforcement Chaplains.
In 2017, he was named as an honorary Archdeacon for the Diocese of the Mid-South in recognition of his faithful decades of service to Christ and His Church.
On May 21, 2017, the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Archdeacon Shelton peacefully passed away after an extended illness. Bill’s wife, Donna, is the business manager for The Cathedral of Christ the King and is diocesan administrator for the Mid-South Diocese. They both have been pillars in our church
Many people have told me “Deacon Bill Stories” over the last few days. This one, from Scott Haskin, is by no means unusual:
“Several years ago Heather and I met with Bill and Donna for counseling. One day we walked into the Parish House for our meeting and Bill was wearing this really cool shirt. Heather asked Bill if he could get her one because she liked it so much, without batting an eye, Bill whipped this shirt off and handed it to her. Heather said something like, ‘No, I’ll buy one,’ and Bill answered, ‘It’s OK, I’ll get another one.’
“We … hadn’t seen Bill or Donna in several years, when we heard the news that Bill was in hospice, we both knew we had to visit. We literally just dropped in one evening and I think we were the last two people Bill and Donna expected to see. After tears and hugs, we had a great visit. When we left, Heather looked at me as we were driving out of the parking lot and asked ‘Do you think they saved our marriage?’ To which my immediate reply was, ‘YES!’
“When we received the news of Bill’s passing, I remembered the shirt and I asked Heather if she still had it. She sent me a picture of the shirt and we both thought it fitting that the quote on the bottom is ‘Together We Save Lives.’ Yes, Donna and Bill, you do! Now I can’t say 100 percent that my marriage would have ended had we not met with Bill and Donna, but I can tell you that my (our) marriage is 1,000 percent better because of Bill and Donna’s intercession.
“We love you both; Bill, you are sadly missed.
“Scott and Heather Haskin.”
Bill Shelton was not a perfect man and had problems which, with God’s help. he overcame and became an example to many. Nevertheless, Bill was a genuine hero as are all of our public safety servants. I personally saw him save a life one dark night in Jacksonville, Fla. It’s what he did. It’s what he continued to do, in a different way, as a minister. And now, he will serve God before the Throne.
We love you, Bill. Enjoy your reward, “thou faithful servant.”
[David Epps is the pastor of the Cathedral of Christ the King, Sharpsburg, GA (www.ctkcec.org). He is the bishop of the Mid-South Diocese which consists of Georgia and Tennessee (www.midsouthdiocese.org) and the Associate Endorser for the Department of the Armed Forces, U. S. Military Chaplains, ICCEC. He may contacted at frepps@ctkcec.org.]
