Frank Clifton Shelden Jr.

He was born in Houston, Texas on the 15th of January 1928. He attended public schools, and graduated from San Jacinto High School in 1944. He began attending Rice Institute at the age of sixteen and graduated “With Distinction” in 1948 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. While at Rice he was involved in various activities and organizations including Student Council, the Rice Golf Team, and “The R Association”. He was elected to Tau Beta Pi, the National Honor Society for Engineering Students, and in 1948 was one of three graduates presented with the Rice Institute Service Award.

Upon graduating, Frank was employed by J. T. Thorpe Inc. in Los Angeles, California, a company that designed and built industrial furnaces and refractory structures and who had recently opened a Houston office. Returning to Houston in 1948, Frank remained with the Thorpe organization for forty years until his retirement in 1988, serving as president of Thorpe Corporation and its subsidiaries for thirty-five years.

Frank and his family began attending St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in 1956 where he served in many capacities including Treasurer of the Vestry, Trustee and Chair of the Wayside Chapel and Trustee and President of St. Martin’s Foundation, to name a few. Frank was active in many other church and civil affairs serving as Trustee of St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Trustee of the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest and Trustee of the Snowmass Chapel in Snowmass Village, Colorado.

Frank was a lifelong supporter of Rice University. He served as Director of Rice Engineering Alumni, Director of Friends of Fondren Library and Director of Rice University Fund Council. He was a member of The Shepherd Society and of Rice Associates, and served as Trustee of the Rice Alumni Association Board. In 2002, he was presented with the Rice University “Meritorious Service Award”. Frank was an eagle scout and a great outdoorsman. He led many young men through the wilderness at Philmont, New Mexico and loved his second home in Snowmass, Colorado. He was an avid golfer and fly-fishermen and a Life Member of Trout Unlimited. Frank was a lifelong learner and world traveler and enjoyed membership in the Young Presidents’ Organization and the World Business Council. He was a Life Member of Texas Society of Professional Engineers, a Life Member of National Society of Professional Engineers, a Life Member of Tau Beta Pi and the Houston Country Club.

Frank was preceded in death by his wife of 54 years, Millicent Brown Shelden; and his son, Frank C. Shelden III. He is survived by his son, Sam McClintock Shelden and his children, Scott Everett Shelden and Cori Michelle Shelden; and his daughter, Maura Shelden Montgomery, and her husband, Mark William Montgomery and their children, John Lawton Montgomery, Mary Catherine Montgomery and Robert William Montgomery. Frank cherished his friendships, both old and new, and was especially thankful for his dear friend, Ann Gregory.

The memorial service is to be conducted at two o’clock in the afternoon on Friday, the 3rd of August, at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, 717 Sage Road in Houston, where the Rev. Dr. Russell J. Levenson, Jr., Rector, the Rev. Martin J. Bastian, Senior Associate Rector, and the Rev. John R. Bentley, Jr., Priest Associate, are to officiate.

Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family during a reception in the adjacent Bagby Parish Hall.

The family is to gather for a private interment on Saturday, the 4th of August, at Forest Park Westheimer Cemetery in Houston.

In lieu of customary remembrances, memorial contributions in Frank’s name may be directed to The Wayside Chapel, c/o St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, 717 Sage Rd., Houston, TX, 77056; The Snowmass Chapel, P.O. Box 17169, Snowmass Village, CO, 81615; the Rice University Golf Team Scholarship Fund, P. O. Box 1892 Houston, TX, 77251-1892.; or to the charity of one’s choice.