Shelby E. Horton

Shelby E. Horton, Jr. 89, of Asheville, died Sunday, February 11, 2007, at Aston Park Health Care Center. Mr. Horton was born in the Bald Creek section of Yancey County on September 18, 1917, to the late Shelby E. Horton, Sr. and Lillian Metcalfe Horton. He was also preceded in death by his loving and devoted wife of 50 years, Audrey Shumaker Horton, and by his brothers, Harold and Bill. Shelby was a graduate of Lee H. Edwards High School. He attended Asheville-Biltmore College and later received a bachelor?s degree from the University of North Carolina. Shelby spent three years as a high school principal and English and history teacher, as well as basketball coach at Weaverville and Pinehurst schools. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in May, 1942, where he spent two years working in intelligence in Alaska. He then served in the US Air Force Reserve before retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. He returned to attend Duke Law School where he met and married his beloved wife, Audrey. They graduated together and were then married in the Duke Chapel on June 3, 1948. The couple returned to Asheville to practice law side by side for fifty years. For a time, Shelby served as a domestic relations judge before the General Court of Justice. Shelby was a member and served as officer of numerous civic organizations, including president of two Lions Clubs and serving as District Governor of Lions International. He was a charter member of Grace Baptist Church, longtime Sunday school teacher, and chair of the Board of Deacons. Shelby and Audrey were both very active in their community and were blessed with many good friends. They will be missed. Surviving are his daughter, Linda D. Horton, her daughter Kimberly A. Horton; his daughter, Karen H. Calhoun, and her daughters, Jamie L. Davis and Cori L. Calhoun. A celebration of Shelby?s life will be at 3:00 p.m. Thursday at Grace Baptist Church with the Rev. Dr. L. Wayne Adkisson officiating. Interment will follow at Green Hills Cemetery. His family will receive friends at the church one hour prior to the service. The family would like to thank the Aston Park Helath Care Center and Mountain Area Hospice for the kind, caring attention he received during his last illness. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the charity of your choice, or to Carepartners Hospice, ABCCM, or the American Cancer Society.