Barbara Shelton

Barbara Shelton passed away peacefully at Mountain Valley Hospice Care, Yadkinville on August 9^th with her family by her side. She was a living embodiment of love. She was born a sharecropper’s daughter in Surry County and went on to become a bookkeeper for RJ Reynolds Industries, then later for their New Jersey subsidiary SeaLand Shipping. She also worked as a business manager of Northern Hospital in Mount Airy, as well as the medical practice of Dr. Aaron France—a practice which she helped to establish. Her work for Dr. France, one of the few African-American doctors practicing in the area, was a particular source of pride for her. From SeaLand’s offices in Port Elizabeth, New Jersey, she climbed the gangplanks of merchant vessels in high heel shoes to deliver payroll checks to the crew. She once pulled her rolling luggage across Broadway, through the middle of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade to visit her son’s apartment on the West Side of Manhattan. She was a volunteer chef for the Community Meals at First Baptist Church, Pilot Mountain, of which she was a member. Barbara was preceded in death by her father and mother, Ernest and Mintoria Posey; a brother, Ernest Larry Posey; and her second husband Eddie Shelton. She was a loving caregiver to all of them in their last years. She leaves behind one son, Jeff Joyce, an artist, of Connecticut; and two grandchildren: Sean Joyce of New Jersey, and Kerry Joyce of New York. She also leaves behind her sister Mattie Payne, of Pilot Mountain, and a legion of dear friends who adored her.

Please consider making a donation in her memory to Mountain Valley Hospice and Palliative Care, or The American Cancer Society.