Thyrzia Roark Shelton passed from this life Thursday, March 18, 2004, in Wichita Falls, Texas, at the age of eighty-one. She was born May 27, 1922, to Earl and Ila McKinley Roark, in Terral, Oklahoma. Thyrzia and Jerry Shelton were united in marriage October 27, 1954, in Gainesville, Texas. Thyrzia and Jerry purchased the Wright grocery store in Ryan in 1956. In 1966, they purchased the Park grocery store in Waurika. They owned and operated Shelton's grocery stores in Ryan and Waurika for more than forty-three years before retiring in 1999. She was a member of the Eastern Star for fifty years and was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Waurika.

Survivors include: her hus band, Jerry Shelton, of Waurika, OK; one son - James Earl Montgomery and his wife Judy, of Waurika, OK; one daughter - Connie Dillon and her husband, Guy. of Ardmore, OK; four grandchildren - Chuck Barrett, Kelly Pritchett, Leslee Cunningham, and Kallie Montgomery; and two great-grandchildren - Ben Barrett and Bailey Pritchett.

She was preceded in death by her parents Earl and Ila Roark.

Funeral services for Thyrzia Shelton were at 2:00 PM, Sunday, March 21, 2004, at the First United Methodist Church in Waurika with Reed Montgomery, Ken Coleman, Curtis Plant and Ronald Hall officiating. Burial was in the Ryan Cemetery under the direction of Dudley Funeral Home of Waurika. Memorial contributions may be made to the church or charity of choice or the Terral Cemetery Fund.