Louella Ann Shelton

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Louella Ann Shelton

Fri, 01/15/2021 - 02:53
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The distinguished Louella Ann Shelton (Woods) peacefully reunited with the love of her life, Earlwood Shelton, on Jan. 9, 2021, at North Kansas City Hospital.

Louella was born on Feb. 21, 1929, in Clay County to Neely and Ella (Odell) Woods. She was No. 8 out of nine siblings, preceded in death by all.

Her younger sister, “Myrtle” Hughes, was her best friend and had many adventures together. They included raising their families together and almost wrecking the car when the radio announced that Elvis Presley had died. They enjoyed sharing stories about how their older brothers often kept them out of trouble by lifting them out of reach of their short mother.

Louella met the love of her life, Earlwood Shelton, in 1946 while working at the McCleary Clinic. She had dated other men; however, she always said it did not take long to know if you truly loved someone and could live with them for the rest of your life, meaning that other men took too long. It took Earlwood one month to know she was the girl for him.

After their whirlwind romance, they were married on Jan. 25, 1947. Both began working at the Royal Hotel, Louella as an elevator operator, Earlwood as a bellhop. One day, Louella passed out in the elevator. That was when they learned they would be parents. They had three beautiful children: Vickie Shelton, Robyn Bradshaw and Aundra (Kevin Ringer) Hedges.

Louella held other jobs like selling Avon and working at Montgomery Ward.

The Shelton family moved to their dream home on Northview Drive. Myrt and her husband, Charlie Hughes, moved onto Southview Drive, where their children, Sheila Thompson and Gary Hughes, were raised. Louella and Myrt raised their families together as one. Not only did they live near each other, but they also frequently vacationed together, even sharing a boat they took down to the Lake of the Ozarks on the weekends. Louella took great pride in how her girls looked and those girls were known for being the best dressed every Sunday at the Woods Memorial Christian Church, where they were longtime members.

Louella opened the Fashion House with partners and friends Myrt Hughes and Ella Robyn McKown. Later, the family moved to Bolivar for a period of time, only to return in the late 1960s to Excelsior Springs when Louella opened the Martinez School of Cosmetology with friend Betty Seigel on Broadway Boulevardd. It was named after Reme Martinez, a foreign exchange student from Spain that lived with them in the early 1970s.

Shelton Estates in Excelsior Springs was developed. That was where they would spend the rest of their lives with their daughters, and soon grandchildren, close by.

Louella thoroughly enjoyed helping people look their best from makeup to clothing to hair. She loved her cosmetology students and family. She wanted her students to be successful and take care of their families. Growing up in the Depression, she wanted others to have a better life than her.

When you love what you do, you stick with it. Louella finally retired as a cosmetologist and instructor at age 83.

Family is the first word that comes to mind when thinking about Louella. She unconditionally loved her family and would do anything for them at any cost. She always found a way through difficult times.

Large family gatherings were common at her home. From Louella’s three beautiful daughters came 10 grandchildren: Jennifer (Barry) Lamb, Miranda (Scott) Denmark, Teasha (Victor) Vargas, Rachael (David) Peak, Erica (Scott) Ritter, Brett Shelton Thomas, Adrian (Chris) Nightingale, Tyler Hedges, Adam Campbell and Caila Heintz; 15 great-grandchildren; and 12 greatgreat-grandchildren.

How can you describe a person who was largely impactful to everyone they met? Her actions spoke louder than words. A few words that come to mind when describing Louella are selfless, caring, respectful, strong and tenacious. She always gave to others and believed in humanity. She was the first person to stand up for you and what she thought was right. Sometimes, that came as a hard lesson.

Louella would give away free shampoos and haircuts to those who needed them. She opened her home to those who needed a home – which were many throughout her life. Louella respected everyone and treated everyone with kindness. She was a proud and successful business owner. To those who called her “Mom,” she supported and trained them to work hard to be the best and most successful in whatever career they chose. Louella taught her children to put family first, go to church, and be joyous and happy. She was known for her love of singing (even if she never knew the words and sang a lot of “la-da-das”), and big Sunday morning breakfasts that contributed to tardiness at church. God was always watching you; and if you misbehaved, you watched Billy Graham on TV. Louella made sure her daughters used their manners and were kind to everyone. She led by example.

Babies were her weakness. That was why she loved her grandchildren so much. To those who called her “Memo,” which were many because she was a grandmother to all, she was the type of grandmother that danced in the front room with you, squeezed you tight, rocked you to sleep in your favorite rocking chair and scrubbed you in the bath until you were squeaky clean and smelled of Redken soap and White Shoulders. You could count on a fire in the fireplace, soup on the stove and homemade hot chocolate. Memo was a super-strong woman and could not be beaten at arm wrestling. We all tried. Ask Brett.

She made us laugh when she pretended to be a contestant on “The Price is Right.” Louella gave the choice of fighting naked in the front yard or holding hands and reading the Bible if you got in trouble. She was known for her rolls; and at every family gathering, someone would yell, “Don’t forget the rolls!” so they did not burn.

To those who called her a friend, she was known for her generosity, kindness, selflessness and the occasional cheating during card games.

Louella had great pride in her community of Excelsior Springs. She enjoyed eating at Ray’s Lunch and the Mill Inn Restaurant. She loyally shopped at Ruth Kings and other local businesses. Louella loved to take car rides through Watkins Mill while eating an ice cream cone from the Dairy Queen. She had a green thumb and had the best plants and flowers. Her jade and geranium plants were ginormous!

Louella leaves behind a strong legacy. She raised her family with strong values and showed how you can get through anything with love and support. As she and her late husband said frequently, “We’ve lived a good life!”

Visitation to the public was from 10 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, Jan. 13, at Bross & Spidle Excelsior Springs Funeral Home. The graveside service followed at 1 p.m at Hillcrest Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, monetary donations can be made to Louella Shelton and sent to 401 W. Kansas St., Liberty, MO 64068.