Dona "Fern" Shelby, 88, Norman, former Martha resident , beloved wife, mother, Grandma, sister and aunt, went to be with her Lord on April 26, 2017. Funeral services have been scheduled for 1:00 pm, Tuesday, May 2, 2017 at the Kincannon Memorial Chapel with Don Canada officiating. Burial will follow in the Martha Cemetery under the direction of Kincannon Funeral Home and Cremation Service.
Fern was born on August 13, 1928 in Kempner, Texas to William Leonard and Zora Belle (Mackey) Yates. She graduated from Eldorado High School in 1946. Fern and Weldon Jones were united in marriage and to this union three children were born. She was a farmer's wife and homemaker. She helped start the Jones Candy Kitchen with the best peanut brittle, cinnamon rolls, and pies in the world. Fern sewed for her children and grandchildren. She quilted quilts and blankets for all of her children, grandchildren and many of her family members. Fern worked at the Post Office as a clerk for over thirty years. It was there that she met and fell in love with Sam Shelby. They married in 1978 and went all over the world on trips. She traveled America to visit family and loved taking pictures of all the sights.
Her positive attitude was one of her greatest attributes. Her favorite saying was "Everything will work out for the best." You could always tell she was excited about something by the number of "Ho, Ho, Ho's" she said. The high count was up to eight when she saw grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She believed in her children and grandchildren above all. She was a member of the Church of Christ and her faith was very important to her and she instilled it in her family as well.
She is survived by her children, Gary Jones and wife, Joyce, Betty Mayes and husband, Charlie, and Rick Jones and wife, Carla; her grandchildren, John Cole, Anthony Cole, Jeremy Cole, Amy Whyatt, Marcus Jones, Amanda Heard and Brad Jones; sixteen great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren. She also loved her stepchildren, Dale Shelby, Sami Jo Potts, Jerry Shelby, Carol Beth Haas, Don Shelby and Larry Shelby, and their children and grandchildren like her own. She also leaves behind three sisters, Maxine Fultz, Othella Reed and Bertha Jones and their families. She also leaves a host of nieces and nephews.
Fern is preceded in death by her parents, her two husbands, Weldon and Sam, three brothers, Emmitt, Marvin and Claude, son-in-law, Gerald Cole, a stepson, Jerry Shelby, one granddaughter and one great-great granddaughter.
The family will receive friends from 6:00 - 8:00 PM Monday, May 1, 2017 at the funeral home.
Additional parking for the service is available behind the funeral home, Days Inn to the South and Western Sizzlin' to the North.
Family and friends unable to attend may log on to kincannonfuneralhome.com, 30 minutes prior to the service, to view the live webcast of the funeral.
Online tributes may be made at kincannonfuneralhome.com