Master and Commander
Posts: 1814
Location: Boydton, Virginia | Subject: A Sad Day in Boydton
A sad day indeed. Dr. William A Shelton, Jr. drowned in a boating
accident last Sunday. He was doing what he loved best, his greatest joy
in life, fishing on Kerr Reservoir. He was alone on his bass boat when
somehow he fell overboard and succomed . His body was recovered early
this Tuesday,and shipped to Richmond for autopsey.
Dr. Bill is our doctor and the son of elder Doc William Shelton Sr., whom
Mary and I doctored with for 25 years before he retired. Dr. Bill was
just like his Dad, very quiet, reserved, humble and quite brilliant. He
worked at Kerr Dam as a summer hire while attending Va. Tech for his
undergraduate degree when I reported for duty there in 1979. He did his
residency in Family practice at Riverside hospital while my sister Marianne was a
nurse there.
His Dad is a WWII veteran, 86 Infantry, in France and Germany,
Phillapines and trained for invasion of Japan. Besides being our Doctor
for 25 years, he was our Sunday School teacher, counsellor, and very
dear friend. He is the most humble and devout person I know . He is
always giving to others and seldom recieves anything in return. He was
so very proud and fulfilled that his eldest son followed into his
footsteps to become a Family Practice Doctor. I was by his side at the
boat ramp yesterday when the Sheriff told him that they had found Bill's
boat run up on shore with the engine still running. Most any other
person would have broken down with that news, but Doc was very stoic and
non-demonstrative.
Dr. Bill raised 3 fine boys, but his life was shaken when his wife left
him for a truck driver about 10 years ago,and bled him dry in a divorce.
He seemed to have muddled through that however and had a very thriving ,
though demanding practice. Fishing was his connection to sanity and
often fished alone. He will be sorely missed. I spent most of the day
yesterday at the boat ramp where he launched his boat and the
search was commanded. The most heart-breaking scene was seeing his
entire nursing staff huddled there looking for some means to make sence
of what was happening.
Nothing is guaranteed in this life, so be sure to tell everyone around
you how much you love them.
Sadly,
Steamboat
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A Sad Day in Boydton
