Sara Shelley

Sara Shelley, an adored wife, mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, friend and retired public school teacher, died peacefully Tuesday, October 25, 2022, at Mercy Hospital Springfield two days after a ruptured brain aneurysm. She was 82.

Known for her welcoming hugs, quick wit and sparkling eyes, Sara had a loving heart and zest for life that will continue to comfort her family and all who knew her. Her legacy lives on through her unconditional familial love, loads of laughter, years of public service and the scores of students, colleagues and friends whose lives she enriched.

She graduated from Springfield’s Central High School and earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Missouri State University. She was a teacher for 25 years at Cowden Elementary School until her retirement in 2000. She would regularly be approached by former students who expressed their gratitude for helping make them better people, and she stayed in touch with her former Cowden colleagues.

Sara’s desire to be of service never waned. She was a decades-long member and former state president (2006-2008) of Alpha Delta Kappa (ADK), an honorary international teacher organization. She held every office in the local chapter, Alpha Epsilon. ADK describes her as “a fearless leader and a wonderful mentor who demonstrated sisterhood in everything she did.”

She had been a member of the Missouri State Teachers Association, Missouri Retired Teachers Association and Springfield Area Retired Teachers Association. Additionally, she worked for many years as an election volunteer for the Greene County Clerk’s office. She was also a member of the Red Hat Society.

Sara Josephine Shelley was born May 7, 1940, in Springfield, MO, to Eva (Turner) and Carl Crosswhite. She was preceded in death by her parents; her beloved stepfather Lyle Clopton; her brother John; and numerous other relatives. Her paternal grandfather, Oliver “Ollie” Crosswhite, was among the six Springfield-area law enforcement officers killed in the infamous Young Brothers Massacre near Brookline, MO, on January 2, 1932.

Sara is survived by her husband of 64 years, Larry Shelley of Springfield; her son, Dan and his husband, Lane Beauchamp; her daughter, Anne and her wife Bridget Gibson, all of Fayetteville, AR; her granddaughter – the light of her life for the past 17 years – Eva Mae Ross of Tucson, AZ; and her best friend of more than 70 years, Carol Dawson of Springfield.

At her request, Sara’s ashes will be interred at White Chapel Memorial Gardens in Springfield. A memorial service celebrating her enduring love and life will be held at 2 pm on Sunday, November 6, at Historic Firehouse No. 2, 101 East Commercial Street in Springfield. All are welcome. Casual attire. Learn more.

The family does not wish to receive flowers. Instead, it encourages donations in Sara’s memory to the Springfield-based nonprofit Care to Learn, which provides immediate funding “to meet emergent health, hunger and hygiene needs so every student can be successful in school.”

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