Minnie Mae Shelley

Minnie Lewis Shelley, 93, went home to be with the Lord on March 30, 2013 due to natural causes.

Born August 14, 1919, Minnie was a lifelong resident of Florida and moved to Babson Park as a young child. She was among the first of those to attend Babson Park Elementary. Minnie was married to Malley Shelley and they celebrated many happy years of marriage before his passing. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and sister. She never missed an opportunity to hug her family and tell them how special they were to her. In addition to fulfilling her family’s needs, Minnie worked for many years at the Lake Wales Citrus Growers Assn.

Minnie didn’t learn to drive until the passing of her husband. She knew she must take this step to be independent, and so she began a new stage of her life. She was the friendly, smiling greeter at Walmart until her upper eighties.

Grace Healthcare became her home in the last years of her life. And although she was sad to leave her house, she soon began to see Grace as her home. She loved the workers there and made many fond friends. She took pride in reaching out to those that she felt needed attention and love at the home. She felt it was her calling to minister to these people and even said that she led eleven people to the Lord while there.

In addition to her husband, Minnie was preceded in death by her son, James (Johnny) Earl Shelley. She is survived by her daughters, Carolyn (Scott) Smith of Lake Wales, Sharon (Mitch) Bunner of North Carolina; four grandchildren, Scott (Jill) Smith of Lake Wales, Andy (Kim) Shelley of Boston, Alexa Shelley of Boone NC, and JP (Beverly) Shelley of Memphis. She also had seven great grandchildren.

Graveside service will be held 2:00 pm Friday, April 5, 2013 at the Lake Wales Cemetery with Rev. Walter Nelson officiating.