Patricia Shelley

Patricia Anne Clements Shelley, 83, of Thomasville, Georgia, died peacefully in her sleep on August 30, 2025. She spent the last evening listening to piano hymns on Spotify and to the Thomasville Bulldogs football game.

Pat was born in Thomasville on March 1, 1942, the first child of Hubert and Irmalene Parker Clements. She would go on to become not only big sister to her adored brother Jimmy but also the oldest of 8 first cousins on the Clements side and 18 on the Parker side. She remembered all their birthdays and middle names and treasured every time she could get together with them. She was a proud member of the Thomasville High School class of 1960 and enjoyed staying in touch with many of her classmates.

On March 26, 1961, in Coolidge, Georgia, Pat married Dorsey Allen Shelley, who preceded her in death. They spent most of their married life in Thomasville and Thomas County, where they raised their children Angela, Marcia, and Allen.

She was also preceded in death by an infant daughter Maria and 6 year old daughter Melanie.

The death of her father when she was just 18, followed by the deaths of her children left Pat with a lifelong pocket of grief in her heart. But she used this grief and the growth that came out of it to reach out over and over to other parents anticipating or grieving the death of a child. She knew the words to say and she spoke them. She knew when to just hold a hand or give a hug or to make phone calls that a grieving mother didn’t yet know how to make.

Her decades-long ministry at First Baptist Church, particularly as director of the Mothers’ Morning Out program, made “Mrs. Pat” a household name among generations of preschoolers and their parents. She reached so many through her gentle ways, her smile, her determination to always put the needs of the children in her care forefront. She was very proud to say that she could still sit on the floor and play with the children at age 74- even though her bones might ache a little. She served many years as a teacher and piano player for the 4-year-old Sunday School class.

Pat also worked in sales and as a regional manager for World Book Encyclopedia. She conquered the shyness of her childhood to make sales calls because she believed in getting information and books into children’s homes. One of her greatest joys was participating in a company program that allowed her to give away a set of encyclopedias each year after meeting sales goals. She would call area schools to ask for recommendations of a family in need, then contact the family to let them know they had won a set of encyclopedias and ask how they wanted their books delivered: by minivan or by sleigh.

Pat learned a love of baseball from her father and loved to have batting practice or play catch with her son and grandchildren. She was the most enthusiastic cheerleader in the stands, the first one to stand and wave along a parade route, and she never missed a band concert or school program. She sewed clothes for all of her children and her granddaughters. She played the piano beautifully and loved singing carols on Christmas Eve; she always made her family go silent to hear a pianist on television.

Pat is survived by daughters Angela Dawn Shelley and Marcia Shelley Millere and her husband Edmond Millere; son Allen Patrick Shelley and his wife Tonja Mobarry; and brother James H. Clements and his wife Joyce; grandchildren Keith Shelley, Saralyn Shelley, Rosalie Millere, Ella Millere, and Abbie Moody; aunt Bennie Helen Parker Carroll; niece Laura Clements Newton and her husband and children Keefe, Grant, and Lauren Newton; 14 first cousins; numerous second cousins, and many lifelong friends, most especially Gloria Burney, Priscilla Bellamy and Joan Young. She was the American Mama to Jenn Poag and honorary grandmother to her children John, James, and Christina. She also loved and was loved by her late stepfather, Wallace Tucker, who quickly became “Papa” to her children.

The family will receive visitors at Allen and Allen Funeral Home, Wednesday evening, September 3, from 5:00-7:30, with time set aside at 6 p.m to share remembrances.

The funeral will be Thursday, September 4, 2025, at 10 a.m at First Baptist Church chapel with a graveside service to follow at Big Ochlocknee Baptist Church on Beeline Road in Coolidge.

Memorial gifts in honor of Patricia Shelley may be made to the Thomas County Public Library.