In memory of Robin Shelton
Donation protected
On Monday, October 22nd, 2018, Robin Arthur Shelton, loving father, friend, and brother, passed away peacefully in his sleep at the age of 61.
—
Dads death was sudden and unexpected. A few days prior he had been to several check-ups with his Doctors, and they said his heart was in good health and recovering well from a valve replacement this summer; He was excited to be going to a college hockey game with Kim this winter, he looked forward to visiting his brothers family in North Carolina next year, he was motivated to work on his truck a bit and to help my mom and Emily haul stuff from the farm next week...so when we got a call from the nurses saying he hadn’t shown up for dialysis that morning, we didn’t think much of it when calling/going to check on him: “oh he slept in/he must be feeling too sick/his alarm didn’t go off” ....nothing truly prepares someone for the death of their dad.
Dad had been on dialysis for the past few years, which left him with declining health, and continuously depleted funding for medical expenses. The reality of this situation is that he hadn’t prepared for this moment yet (no will, no life insurance, no funeral coverage), and rather than my sisters and I truly focusing on the death of our dad we were literally bombarded within moments of the discovery of his death the immediate bureaucracy of debt and finances...”sorry for your loss...how are you paying for his transportation to our funeral home?”, “embalming or not?”, “burial or cremation?”, “How do you girls plan on paying for his expenses once he’s at the funeral home?”
Ultimately, I wanted to share a little more about the world we are living in right now. Kim, Emily and I are trying to do the best we can under immense stress. We are doing the best we can with incredibly depleted resources.
We decided to create this GoFundMe in the hopes to help cover the immediate financial impact of the basic funeral costs for our dad.
We continue to express our unspeakable amount of gratitude and appreciation to everyone for the thoughts, prayers, words, love and support to our family throughout this.
—
Robin was born on August 17, 1957 in Asheville, NC, to Pete and Helen (Cantrell) Shelton. He graduated from North Buncombe High School in 1975 before serving in the Air Force as a Radio Operator, Maintainer and Driver (ROMAD) from 1975 to 1980. Robin worked with Ford Aerospace and Loral Aerospace before continuing an extensive career as a Systems Engineer with Lockheed Martin for over 20 years.
Robin had a passion for space and the universe. He was an avid golfer and music lover. He enjoyed boat rides out on the lakes with his daughters, a good whiskey, and exploring Europe and the US on his Harley Davidson Motorcycle. He was known for his quick wit, his infectious smile, and his kind and compassionate spirit.
Robin was preceded in death by his father, Pete, and his mother, Helen. He is survived by three daughters, Katie, Kim, and Emily, his former wife, Terri, his sister, Joann, and brother Toby and wife Susie, a niece, Angela, and nephews, Jodi and Jeremy, as well as great nieces and nephews.
A visitation service will be held on Monday, October 29, 2018 at the Olson-Schwartz Funeral Home at 3330 Irvine Ave NW in Bemidji, MN, at 3 o’clock pm to 4 o’clock pm. A grave side service will be be held on Tuesday, October 30, 2018, at Fort Snelling National Memorial Cemetary in Minneapolis, MN at 12:45 pm. Flowers or donations may be sent to 2633 Timberlane Way SW, Bemidji, MN 56601.
—
Dads death was sudden and unexpected. A few days prior he had been to several check-ups with his Doctors, and they said his heart was in good health and recovering well from a valve replacement this summer; He was excited to be going to a college hockey game with Kim this winter, he looked forward to visiting his brothers family in North Carolina next year, he was motivated to work on his truck a bit and to help my mom and Emily haul stuff from the farm next week...so when we got a call from the nurses saying he hadn’t shown up for dialysis that morning, we didn’t think much of it when calling/going to check on him: “oh he slept in/he must be feeling too sick/his alarm didn’t go off” ....nothing truly prepares someone for the death of their dad.
Dad had been on dialysis for the past few years, which left him with declining health, and continuously depleted funding for medical expenses. The reality of this situation is that he hadn’t prepared for this moment yet (no will, no life insurance, no funeral coverage), and rather than my sisters and I truly focusing on the death of our dad we were literally bombarded within moments of the discovery of his death the immediate bureaucracy of debt and finances...”sorry for your loss...how are you paying for his transportation to our funeral home?”, “embalming or not?”, “burial or cremation?”, “How do you girls plan on paying for his expenses once he’s at the funeral home?”
Ultimately, I wanted to share a little more about the world we are living in right now. Kim, Emily and I are trying to do the best we can under immense stress. We are doing the best we can with incredibly depleted resources.
We decided to create this GoFundMe in the hopes to help cover the immediate financial impact of the basic funeral costs for our dad.
We continue to express our unspeakable amount of gratitude and appreciation to everyone for the thoughts, prayers, words, love and support to our family throughout this.
—
Robin was born on August 17, 1957 in Asheville, NC, to Pete and Helen (Cantrell) Shelton. He graduated from North Buncombe High School in 1975 before serving in the Air Force as a Radio Operator, Maintainer and Driver (ROMAD) from 1975 to 1980. Robin worked with Ford Aerospace and Loral Aerospace before continuing an extensive career as a Systems Engineer with Lockheed Martin for over 20 years.
Robin had a passion for space and the universe. He was an avid golfer and music lover. He enjoyed boat rides out on the lakes with his daughters, a good whiskey, and exploring Europe and the US on his Harley Davidson Motorcycle. He was known for his quick wit, his infectious smile, and his kind and compassionate spirit.
Robin was preceded in death by his father, Pete, and his mother, Helen. He is survived by three daughters, Katie, Kim, and Emily, his former wife, Terri, his sister, Joann, and brother Toby and wife Susie, a niece, Angela, and nephews, Jodi and Jeremy, as well as great nieces and nephews.
A visitation service will be held on Monday, October 29, 2018 at the Olson-Schwartz Funeral Home at 3330 Irvine Ave NW in Bemidji, MN, at 3 o’clock pm to 4 o’clock pm. A grave side service will be be held on Tuesday, October 30, 2018, at Fort Snelling National Memorial Cemetary in Minneapolis, MN at 12:45 pm. Flowers or donations may be sent to 2633 Timberlane Way SW, Bemidji, MN 56601.
Organizer
Katie Shelton
Organizer
Bemidji, MN