Emmabelle Shelton

Emmabelle Shelton, 87, of La Grande died Feb. 16 in Boise.

A memorial service will begin at 10 a.m. Friday at the Assembly of God New Life Center in La Grande.

Emmabelle was born Sept. 22, 1919, near Weston Mountain to Thomas and Ruth Booher. Her family moved to La Grande in 1923, where they farmed and where Emmabelle called home for the rest of her life. She married Rock C. Shelton on June 11, 1968. They met while working together at a laundromat owned by Rock's brother, Bert Shelton.

Emmabelle began working at the Grande Ronde hospital in 1968 and did not fully retire until the early 1990s. Known as Mom, Grandma, Grandma GG and Auntie Belle, she will be remembered as a caring and wonderful person. Her long and full life was marked by her never-tiring care for family and friends. She was well-known for delivering an abundance of homemade popcorn balls during the Christmas holidays. She loved watching her grandchildren and great-grandchildren compete in sports, especially rodeo, football and baseball.

Survivors include her stepdaughter and husband, Maxine and Dean Clapper of Kuna, Idaho; brother and sister-in-law, Wade and Deleva Booher of La Grande; brother-in-law, Raymond Wolford of Centralia, Wash.; three grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, parents and sisters, Dorothy Mcphetridge., Esther McPhetridge and Grace Wolford.

Memorials may be made to the Assembly of God New Life Center, 108700 S. Walton Rd., Island City 97850-8490