Lois Rowena Shelton

Lois Rowena Shelton, 90, passed away April 24, 2012 at the Odd Fellows Home.

She was born April 13, 1922 in Boardman, Oregon, the loving daughter of Grace and Walter Cohoon.

A 1940 graduate of Walla Walla High School, Lois worked in a variety of jobs. During World War II she was a nursing assistant at McCaw Hospital and later worked for the Health Department in Walla Walla. She subsequently left the Walla Walla valley for California, where she worked as a secretary of many trades, including a ranch, a newspaper, and an ophthalmology practice. She also worked in an attorney’s office in Dayton, Washington upon her return to the Northwest. She was recognized as dedicated, organized and efficient in her work; she continued to use her shorthand note taking skills into her 80’s as the secretary for her local homeowner’s association. Lois loved to tell stories from her work experiences and many focused on her time spent in California.

Lois was an avid golfer. While at a golf tournament in Dayton, Washington, she met her future husband of 48 years, Ken Shelton. They married December 20, 1963 in Pomeroy, Washington.

Lois loved to ballroom dance and play cards, particularly bridge. She was a member of the Walla Walla Country Club, Lady Elks and the Eagles. She was an accomplished seamstress. She loved to read and was a whiz at crossword puzzles. She loved to travel near and far. Most important to her above all was time spent with family.

She is survived by her husband, Ken; her daughter Kay Barga and husband Bruce; her grandson, Marc Bruce and wife Karri; and great-grandchildren Noah and Sylvia, all of Walla Walla; her sister-in-law, Rachelle Cohoon and her nephew, John Cohoon and wife Cathy of Silverdale, Washington; and her niece, Carolyn Peterson and husband Dave of Bremerton, Washington. She is preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Ellis Cohoon.

A funeral service will be held Tuesday, May 1, 2012 at Herring Groseclose Funeral Home, 315 W. Alder, Walla Walla, Washington at 11:00 AM. A luncheon will follow in the St. John of the Cross Room at St. Patrick’s Church. Private interment will be at Mountain View Cemetery in Walla Walla. Memorials may be made to the Blue Mountain Humane Society, Salvation Army or a charity of donor’s choice through the funeral home.