SHELSON, Richard

SHELSON

RICHARD SHELSON, beloved husband of Dorothy Shelson of Lethbridge, passed away peacefully at the Chinook Regional Hospital on Sunday, May 22, 2022 at the age of 70 years.

In addition to his loving wife of 37 years, he is survived by his two sons, Patrick and Wayne, and his brother and sisters; Beth Bailey, Kevin Shelson, and Barb Fulton.

Richard was born to his parents Winnifred and William Shelson in Windsor, Ontario on Feb 1st, 1952. In early 1981, he accepted a job in Lethbridge, Alberta with Alberta Mental Health Services, and moved across the country from Montreal, Quebec. There he met Dorothy in Lethbridge early in 1982, and got married on August 18, 1984.

Richard served the community in his role at Alberta Mental Health for 28 years, eventually retiring in 2009 as part of Senior Management of Mental Health for the Chinook Health Region. But retirement wasn’t fully in the cards; he wished to continue to helping people as he had when he was a counsellor, before moving into management. He picked up work at several private counselling practices, returning to what he loved; helping people in need. His work within the Social Work community took him around North America, travelling to conferences, sitting on boards, writing university exam standards, and as a Sessional Professor at the University of Lethbridge, teaching in the Social Work department.

Outside of work, Richard was extremely active in many community groups, such as the Church Choir and Music Ministry, Wood Turners Guild, Lethbridge Running Club, the Knights of Columbus Council 1490, where he served as the Grand Knight and in the 4th Degree, and in many other groups, councils, boards, and teams that he was part of in his 39 years in the Lethbridge Community. He was widely known for being an incredibly social individual, his infectious laughter, and was lovingly referred to as a “Social Butterfly” by Dorothy. He never turned down an opportunity to talk to someone new, and was never afraid to speak up on an issue or for what he believed in.

The family would to extend a special and extremely heartfelt Thank You to the doctors and nurses at the Chinook Regional Hospital units 4C and 5A for their kindness, laughter, and hard work. They became like a second family to both Richard and Dorothy during their time there.

Richard was well loved by the community and will be missed by far more people than he could ever know (and that’s a lot of people). In lieu of flowers or well-wishing gifts, please donate to the Mental Health Foundation Alberta (mentalhealthfoundation.ca), a cause that was near and dear to his heart.

A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at ST. BASIL’S CATHOLIC CHURCH, 604 – 13 Street North, Lethbridge, AB, on Wednesday, June 1, 2022 at 1:30 P.M. with Father Derek Remus celebrating. The Mass will be livestreamed and may be accessed via Richard’s obituary on the Cornerstone website.

Following the Mass, Richard will be laid to rest privately in Mountain View Cemetery.

To send a condolence, please visit www.cornerstonefuneralhome.com