Mary “Shelley” Sloan, recently of Arcata, Calif., passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Nov. 12, 2014.
Shelley was born in Portland, Ore., on Aug. 3, 1942 to Julia Hazel (Thomas) Woodell and John Clark Bruce Woodell. The family moved often and she spent time in Louisiana, Michigan, San Diego, Lancaster, Upland, and finally Arcata. She graduated from Chaffey High School in 1960 and earned a B.A. in Communications from UC San Bernardino in 1987. She was a copy editor for The Pennysaver and retired in 2008.
Shelley was very social and her lively spirit earned her fast friends everywhere she went. She was active with St. Joseph’s Church and the Jr. Women’s Club in Upland, Calif., and volunteered with Friends of the Upland Library, after-school reading programs, and the Rancho Cucamonga Chamber of Commerce‘s Grape Harvest Festival, and greatly enjoyed her time with the Upland Professional Singles group. She highly valued her Osage heritage and was a very active member of the Osage Tribe of Oklahoma.
Since moving to Arcata to be near family, she has been active with the Dance USA group, the AAUW, and rarely missed a Dodgers or Patriots game at The Logger in Blue Lake.
Shelley is preceded by her parents and her eldest brother Bruce Woodell, and is survived by her brothers William Woodell, Barry Woodell, and Gregory Woodell, her ex-husband James R. Sloan, her children Tisha Sloan of Blue Lake, California, and J.B. Sloan of Boston, Massachusetts, her grandchildren, Julia, Elizabeth and Jackson in California, and Isabelle and James in Massachusetts, and many beloved nieces and nephews.
Services will be held at Sacred Heart Church in Eureka on Nov. 18, followed by a graveside ceremony in Blue Lake. The wake/reception immediately followed at the Mad River Grange in Blue Lake.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Scleroderma Foundation.
In honor of one of her favorite activities, family and friends gathered at The Logger in Blue Lake to cheer on the Patriots, Nov. 16.
By
Osage News
Original Publish Date: 2014-12-09 00:00:00