Muristek
1937 – 2022Former Superintendent of Schools
Dr. Richard B. Shelton, 84, beloved superintendent of schools and beloved husband, father and grandfather, passed away peacefully surrounded by loved ones at Cottage Hospital as he succumbed to a weakened heart May 23.Dick was a force of nature. He was widely known for his quick wit, his keen intellect, and his tender heart. He had a strong presence and always commanded a room. He was always funny. He was also extremely intuitive and perceptive. He missed nothing. He wasn’t just a boss, but a leader, mentor, confidante and the greatest of friends. He was one of a kind.His intellect and wisdom were a guiding force, but underlying it all was his deep, unending empathy. It brought him great joy to help the less fortunate, through simple kindnesses, money, or food.Many suspected he had an internal calculator, evidenced by his speedy and unfailingly accurate computations; an internal Wikipedia database because of his staggering breadth of knowledge (his kids learned early never to say “Daddy, guess how many…” or “guess how high…”); and an internal GPS system, as he navigated repeated cross county travels to new places without missing a turn, recalling all the restaurants or gas stations along his path to help whenever others were driving. Many of his trips involved tailgating at his beloved Rutgers football games.An only child, he was born in 1937 in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. to Jack and Anne Shelton, who each owned local retail stores, one a shoe store and the other a women’s apparel shop. By age 13 he had been interviewed extensively in local newspapers and radio stations because of his skills on the baseball field, traveling with one of the nation’s first Little League teams all over the East Coast, just missing out on the Little League World Series.After high school he dabbled at college, and then joined the Army, where he was stationed at Fort Bliss, in that safe space between the Korean and Vietnam wars. He returned to marry his first wife, Judy, and they had two children, Jay and Amy.After the Army, college was a breeze. He graduated from Rider College with a B.A. in labor relations, but always loved working with young people as a counselor and coach, so he turned down a lucrative job in industry to instead help Trenton, N.J. fill its dire teacher shortage. He worked in Trenton as a fifth-grade teacher and math specialist for five years, while earning an M.A. at Temple University in elementary administration.He subsequently worked as an acclaimed elementary principal in Pottstown, PA, and an assistant to the superintendent of schools in Bound Brook, NJ, while completing his doctorate in Educational Administration from Rutgers University in 1976.He married his wife Wendy in 1973, and they had two children, Jeffrey and Leslie.After earning his doctorate from Rutgers, he was named assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction in a K-12 school district in Waynesboro, PA. He then became the district’s superintendent of schools for three years, earning numerous distinctions and statewide accolades. But he always wanted to come to California and realized that goal when he was named superintendent of schools in Goleta in 1987, where he was widely respected and admired for his leadership and his humanity.He retired in 2000, and was then recruited to serve in positions as an interim school superintendent in Cold Spring, Buellton, and Los Olivos school districts.He served on the boards of the South Coast Railroad Museum and Goleta Valley Hospital, among many others.His remarkable spirit will always live on in those who adored him and survive him: wife Wendy; son Jeffrey and his wife Sonia and daughter Aniyah; daughter Leslie; son Jay; daughter Amy and her husband Dave and their four sons Meyer, Marley, Cassidy, and Dylan.Following a small memorial service for immediate family, plans are being finalized for a more widespread celebration of life.In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the American Heart Association or the Anti-Defamation League, or the South Coast Railroad Museum.
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