Tina D. Shelton

Tina D. Shelton, of Marion, passed away Friday, April 11, 2025, at Memorial Mission Hospital in Asheville after a lengthy illness. At that instant, she was welcomed into Heaven into the arms of Jesus to be with her friends and family for eternity. She was preceded in death by her father, James E. Shelton, paternal grandparents, Till and Elizabeth Shelton, maternal grandparents, Bill and Iris Cogdill, uncle Danny Cogdill, nephews Caleb Shelton and Edge Shelton, close friend James Johnson as well as several aunts and many of her beloved pets. Tina is survived by her mother, Iris Dianne Waugh, brother Joel Shelton (Dr Briana) Shelton, sister Amy Shelton, nieces Erin Shelton and Jayla Shelton, aunt Debbie Littledeer (Buzz Coren) of Celo, uncles Dwayne (Melanie) Cogdill of Charlotte, Mike (Elenor) Shelton, David Shelton from Waynesville and Margaret Green, Beatrice Shaw from Haywood county. In addition, her special extended family, Rose and Wendy Johnson.

Tina was born on March 20, 1968, to James and Dianne Shelton at Marion General. She was a beautiful young girl who loved to wear her yellow dress, sleep with her countless stuffed animals and teach her younger brother, Joel, all the lessons she learned in school that day. Amy, her younger sister, was always so excited to be held and loved on by her big sister and always enjoyed being called Tina’s daughter instead of sister due to the age difference. Thus began her story of being a leader and an educator which would continue throughout her entire life. She was the first grandchild of Bill and Iris Cogdill of Marion and Till and Elizabeth Shelton of Waynesville. She was raised attending Parker’s Chapel Church, where she experienced salvation at a young age.

Her intelligence was evident early on through her excellent grades and academic achievements. Her first job was as a Candy Striper at McDowell Hospital, and she enjoyed being all dressed up in a pinstripe uniform. She also enjoyed being in band from junior high at East McDowell all the way to her senior year at McDowell High. Clarinet was her instrument of choice, and she excelled in the band, met many of her close friends and had the best adventures during these years. She went on to graduate with Honors in 1986. Tina next attended college at Appalachian State University where she majored in Biology and Education. She was the first college graduate in the Shelton family, continuing to be a leader.

After college, Tina’s first teaching position was at Trinity school in Rutherfordton, NC. From there she moved to teach in Wilson, NC at Greenfield Academy for many years. Finally, upon the birth of her nieces, Erin and Jayla, Tina decided to move back to Marion to dive into the role of Aunt. Her career continued within McDowell County Schools where she taught high school biology and science at AEC and MAI until 2020 when her medical condition forced her to take early retirement. In her final semester of teaching, Tina heroically fought through blindness and paralysis to continue to teach before her condition made it impossible. During her time as an educator, she won many awards including Teacher of the Year and accolades from colleagues. In total, Tina educated high school students across the state for over 28 years.

Tina was an amazing daughter, sister and aunt. She loved her family immensely. There were two loves of her life, her mother Dianne and her niece Jayla. Both held a special place in her life. Tina and Jayla shared the love of animals of all kinds, especially dogs and horses. She was not only a second mom to Jayla but was also the mom of her multitude of dogs, cats, birds, a ferret and other animals she raised in her classrooms. She provided them with a loving, spoiled existence and gave them an opportunity for a long life. Tina was so proud of Amy and so thankful for the loving support over her life especially in the last five years of taking her to countless appointments, food pickups and being her loving sister.

Throughout the last five years dealing with all the challenges of her medical diagnosis, Tina never gave up. She continued through countless surgeries, dialysis sessions and invasive poking and prodding always fighting for the next day. Her legacy within the family is a story of hard work, intelligence, leadership, loving kindness and being a fighter. When God made the decision to finally call her home, the family was left with sadness but also happiness. Happiness because God gave Tina as a gift, to us, her family and blessed us beyond measure. We will remember Tina as the famous quote says, “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”

A funeral service will be conducted at 3:00 p.m., Saturday, April 19, 2025, at the Chapel of Beam Funeral Service. Burial will follow at Chapel Hill Baptist Church Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 2:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m., prior to the service, at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Mercy Fund Animal Rescue or Rusty’s Legacy in Marion in memory of Tina Shelton.