Dennis Wayne Shelton

Dennis Wayne Shelton - August 7, 1941 to May 24, 2025.

Dennis Wayne Shelton passed away suddenly on Saturday, May 24, 2025 at the age of 83. Dennis was born on August 7, 1941 in San Jose, California to Theodore and Mildred Shelton. He was raised in the San Jose area with his parents moving to Campbell, Los Gatos, Saratoga, and finally to Cupertino. Dennis went to grammar school at Alta Vista SDA Elementary School. He then attended Southwestern Adventist Academy in Keene, Texas near his older sister, Lynn, where he graduated. He went on to attend Southwestern Adventist Junior College where he graduated with an AA degree on May 23, 1959. He then attended further education at Madison Adventist College in Madison, Tennessee for maybe a year. He decided to take training in Weiser, Idaho and completed a course in Heavy Equipment Operation in 1961. Sometime after that, he either enlisted or was drafted into the United States Army. The exact dates are unclear but probably from 1965 to 1967. He worked various jobs after that and continued his education at San Jose State University obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry on June 13, 1969. He briefly worked in the Crime Lab at the San Jose Police Department. He got an offer to work for Hewlett Packard and various Silicon Valley Tech Companies but was unhappy with working at a desk job so he got in the Construction Business working in carpentry and finally doing electrical work for the last 30 years before retiring. He became an excellent wood-worker making furniture for his sisters and remodeling his parents' home. He made a sculpture of a zipper that he won an award for. He also enjoyed fishing and traveling. Dennis never married, preferring the bachelor life, although he had a few close calls. He stayed with his mother several years after his father passed away and looked after her until her death at 102 years of age. He then sold her property in Cupertino, California, and moved near his sister, Sarah, and her family in Salinas, California. When they moved to Northern California in 2017 to Magalia he followed them and bought a house there only to have it burn down a month later in the Camp Fire on November 8, 2018. After being on the road off and on a few months, he finally purchased a house with Sarah and her Husband back in Magalia. He then bought a house in Willows, California, where he lived a couple of years and then decided to move closer to his sister in Chico, California where he lived until he passed away. He started to rebuild his house on the Magalia property which was almost completed at his death. Dennis is survived by his four living sisters: Leah Novakovich of Saratoga, California, Lynn Bedford of Keene, Texas, Sue Freligh of Sonora, California, and Sarah Karcich of Magalia, California. He is preceded in death by his parents, Theodore Roosevelt and Mildred Ora Shelton, and his brothers, William Eugene Shelton, T.R. Shelton and James Vern Shelton. A private ceremony will be held by his family in the near future.