R. Paul Shelton

Ralph Paul Shelton, 69, passed away August 21, 2015, Las Cruces, New Mexico. He was born on September 27, 1945 in North Little Rock, Arkansas, to William E. and Robbie Jane (Bachar) Shelton. He was married to Mary Kay McDonald on June 2, 1968. He received a BS in Electrical Engineering with Honors, 1968 and MS in Electrical Engineering, 1970 from New Mexico State University. He was a member of Sigma Tau, Eta Kappa Nu, and Phi Beta Kappa. Upon graduation he reported for active duty with United States. Army and served his tour of duty honorably at White Sands Missile Range and Kwajalein Missile Range. He applied his engineering talents to a diverse spectrum of industries including oil refining, pulp and paper, chemical refining, computer systems and project management. He lived in Aruba, Netherlands Antilles, Baytown, Texas and Edmonds, Washington before returning to Las Cruces to enjoy retirement. Paul is survived by his wife, Mary Kay McDonald-Shelton and god son, Travis Few. He is also survived by his adopting children, Marie and Mike Vitale, who referred to him as SAP (Super Adopted Pop). He was preceded in death by his parents and a godson, Scott Few. His hobbies included scuba diving, skiing and photography. In his retirement he used his photography to support the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum and Magoffin Home events and Mesilla Valley Concert Band publicity. He was a member of St. Patrick's Anglican Church where he served as Senior Warden. Paul enjoyed travel especially with the opportunity to study ancient cultures. His passions were his church and engineer wife, Mary Kay. He declared them two nerds sharing equal passions. Celebration of Life for Paul will be September 11, 2015, 10:00am at Getz Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers please honor Paul by supporting St. Patrick's Anglican Church, Friends of the New Mexico Heritage Museum or Mesilla Valley Concert Band. Interment of Paul's cremains will be at a later date at Ft. Bayard National Cemetery. PDF Printable Version