Margaret "Betty" Elizabeth Shelden

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/pasadenastarnews/obituary.aspx?n=b...

SHELDEN-Betty Shelden, 95, passed away peacefully on Monday, August 29, in Pasadena, California. She was preceded in death in 2003 by her beloved husband of 68 years, Dr. C. Hunter Shelden. Marg aret Elizabeth Pattison was born in Fargo, North Dakota, on March 17, 1910, daughter of George Jay and Mabel Haggart Pattison. After graduating from Rochester (Minn.) High School, she graduated with a BA in English from the University of Wisconsin in 1932; she participated in Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority activities for many years. Married in Rochester in 1934 to Hunter Shelden, M.D., a Mayo Clinic neurosurgical fellow, the family moved to San Marino in 1940. From 1942 to 1946, they lived in Washington, DC, wh ile Hunter was on the staff at nearby Bethesda Naval Hospital. Returning after WWII in 1946, while raising three sons, Betty found the time to volunteer with several organizations affiliated with the Huntington Hospital in Pasadena. In addition to her many interests which included PTA, gardening, needlepoint, decopage, investments, bridge, and sewing, she was an avid, accomplished golfer. A member of Annandale Golf Club since 1941, she won the club's Kathleen Lenihan Trophy in 1974. In later years, she a nd Hunter enjoyed memorable days playing golf at their home at Pauma Valley C.C. near Mt. Palomar. Betty was many things - a warm friend, a superb listener, a loving parent, a caring neighbor, and a gracious and exacting host. Always cheerful and enthusiastic, she was blessed with a wonderful and often used sense of humor. A committed animal lover, it is said that family dogs were cared for as tenderly as her family. She also was preceded in death by her brother, Donald Haggart Pattison, M.D. of Pomona, in 1992 and her sister, Patricia Pattison Joynt of Seattle, Wash., in 1996. She is survived by three sons and their wives, Jay Shelden of South Pasadena; Jim (Liv) Shelden of Lynnwood, Wash.; Geoff (Kathy) Shelden of Pacific Palisades; three grandchildren, Capt. Hunter Shelden of McGuire AFB, N.J., 2ndLt. Trevor Shelden of Ft. Benning, Georgia, and Samantha Shelden of Tempe, Ariz.; also by five nieces; four nephews; several devoted caregivers, and a wide circle of very dear friends. A memorial service will be held at St. Edmonds Episcopal Church, the corner of San Gabriel Ave. and Huntington Drive in San Marino, on September 15th at 10:00 AM. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Huntington Medical Research Institutes, 744 Fairmont Ave., Pasadena, CA 91105.

Published in Pasadena Star-News on Sept. 8, 2005