Joy June Rideout Shelton

SERVICES: 2:00 PM Tuesday, July 1, 2008, in Carmichael-Whatley Colonial Chapel with Rev. C. W. Parker, pastor of Harvest Fellowship Church, officiating.BURIAL: Fairview Cemetery under the direction of Carmichael-Whatley Funeral Directors.BIOGRAPHY: Joy was born on December 14, 1933 in Bowlegs, Oklahoma to Ollie and H. A. Rideout, so she soon picked up the nickname "Bowlegs." Her older sister, Bess Rideout Pruitt, and younger brother, George Thomas Rideout, soon added to her "nickname" list with "Cottontop." On June 22, 1950, Joy married her football player hero, L. C. Shelton, Jr., in Sedan, Kansas, and together they moved to many oilfield towns while raising their son, Lonnie Edwin, born in 1951, and their daughter, Dianna Sue Bailey, born in 1953. They were both born in Hobbs, New Mexico, and their births soon brought about the nicknames "Blue Eyes" and "Squirrel Ears."In 1977, the family was transferred to Pampa with Cities Service Oil Company, and her husband Junior eventually went to work for Cabot Oil and Gas. Joy was employed as a bank teller with Citizens Bank & Trust, sharing her smile with everyone that she helped and giving out lots of suckers. In 1980, she and her husband started Liquid Recovery Systems, Inc., where they worked until their retirement in 2000, relinquishing leadership to Lonnie, who still operates the business. In 1988, Joy added another business to her slate know as "The Ragg Nook." She sold "rags" that helped make her "riches" by beautifying others' homes with rugs, baskets, and knickknacks. This business was sold in 2000 upon her retirement.Joy truly enjoyed "decorating" her many homes, sewing, crocheting, and travel, but her love for her kids and grandchildren was probably her most prized possessions. She was preceded in death by her parents, H. A. and Ollie Rideout Knotts, daughter, Dianna Shelton Bailey, and stepfather, O. O. Knotts. Her family would like to express their most heartfelt appreciation to the Odyssey Hospice employees, Rev. C. W. Parker, Lydia Rodriguez, Haley Wright, Bob Lindsey, and Dr. Mark Drew for all their love and support given to Joy in her last months. Her husband, Junior, only wishes that every man, past, present, and in the future, could be blessed with a wonderful bride like Joy.SURVIVORS: Husband: L. C. Shelton, Jr. of the home; a son, Lonnie Shelton and wife Marilyn of Pampa; a brother, George Thomas Rideout and wife Pat of Midland; son-in-law: John Bailey of Oklahoma City; 4 granddaughters: Kilyn Shelton James and husband Curtis of Sherman, Audra Shelton Tibboel and husband Kevin of Greenville, Traci Shelton Baize and husband Todd of Telluride, CO, and Michelle Bailey Miller of Oklahoma City; a grandson, John Aaron Bailey of Oklahoma City; 8 great grandchildren, and many close family members from the Kansas City, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Texas areas.MEMORIALS: In lieu of flowers, family request memorials be made to Odyssey Healthcare, 6900 I-40 West, Suite 150, Amarillo, TX 79106 or Common Belief Ministries, P. O. Box 536, Howe, TX 75459.