Barry 'Ben' Shelley, 64

"Our Heavenly Father took his child Ben Shelley back into his arms" on March 1, 2007. Ben was on this Earth for 64 years.

Ben was born in Mountain Grove, Mo., on June 9, 1942. He was the fifth child born to Ernie and Esther Shelley. Ben's family moved to Southeastern Washington in 1950. He spent his school years in Dayton, Wash., graduating from high school in 1961.

Ben married his high-school sweetheart, Eleanor Ann Hoon "Sami," in 1962. They had two children, Tammy born in 1965, and Timothy was born in 1967.

He worked in construction on Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash., and for a private contractor, Glen Magill, in Dayton, and in 1971 they moved their family to Columbia Falls, where he worked at Columbia Falls Aluminum Company for 29 years, retiring in 1998.

Ben enjoyed his 10-acre farm. He took a burned-out house and made it in to a very comfortable home to raise his family in. He spent his days fencing, feeding animals and doing yard work. He enjoyed being a "farmer."

He was a 4-H leader while his kids were active, and he spent many hours with Tammy and her horses and Tim and his pigs.

After Tammy and Tim were gone, his interest in working with wood was renewed, and he built many boxes, nutcrackers and different projects, and his wife painted them. They made a good team and were members of Artists and Craftsmen of the Flathead Valley, doing craft shows over the years. If he could see it, he could build it.

Ben had a great love for hunting and fishing. He hunted with family members, especially taking an interest in the "young hunters" of the family coming up. He was a good teacher and so proud of his son and brothers-in-law and nephews when they got their first wild game. He loved to talk about the "great hunts" and adventures he had. He had a small fishing boat and many memories were made fishing Lake Koocanusa and the Hungry Horse Reservoir. He finally got his mother-in-law out in the boat fishing and he was proud of that.

Ben made two fishing trips to Kodiak, Alaska, "and he takes good fun memories with him to the hunting and fishing wonderland in the sky." He was proud of his captain, Bruce McNeil, who always made sure that Ben had a good time and caught fish, and his first mate, Cheryl, who made wonderful food for all of us to keep our strength up.

Ben loved camping and cooking outdoors, whether it was hunting, fishing or just camping. He enjoyed frying up a large frying pan with "camping hash" as much as his family enjoyed eating it.

They had a wonderful period in their lives, when his wife had her horse, "Kee," and Ben had his horse, "Duce." They went on so many trail rides and saw so many things that they wouldn't have otherwise seen. Probably our favorite ride was in to Cracker Lake. The color of the lake was beautiful, and there was a rainbow, absolutely gorgeous.

Ben loved the gift that Tammy gave him, his four grandchildren. Colton is 17, Nicole is 13, Lilly Ann is 11, and Marshall - or "Buster" as his "Papa" called him - is 8. "We are ever so grateful that Ben was able to spend some time with them and hope that they have good forever memories of their Papa."

Ben had a deep faith in "our heavenly Father" and was not afraid to die. He knew where he was going; he just didn't want to go yet. "He will join our son, Tim, and they will be waiting for me when my time is done." Tim passed away in 2002.

"Waiting for Ben to complete his journey" is his son, Tim; Ben's mother and dad, Ernie and Esther Shelley; brothers, Bill, Larry and Grover Lee; and his sister, Freda.

There are many of us left behind for now, and we will have to enjoy the memories that he left us:

Besides his wife, Eleanor, Ben leaves behind his best bud, Duane, whom he shared coffee with and, along with his wife, Lainie, we have so many memories that we made traveling together and playing cards and helping each other through the many trials that life always pitches at you. Through the years we shared our children, loving each and every one for who they are.

His brother-in-law Mick and wife, Brenda, his sister-in-law, Nancy, and husband, Earl; and brother-in-law Dan; his nieces and nephews will always miss him "picking on them," but I hope they realize how proud he was of them and the love he has for them.

His sister, Deane, and husband, Donald, who live in Missouri, he always had a few whoppers to tell her.

His mother-in-law and dad-in-law, who traveled all across the Western states to see rodeo and bull riding. We truly love the sport, it didn't matter whether it was a big show or a little show, we loved it. We have so many memories of that.

Ben has been in extreme pain for several years and now he is free of the pain and limitations that he had. "He will be around us and probably 'bugging' the kids. He'll come visit his horse, Duce; they have so many memories."

Ben liked to be gruff, but he didn't do a very good imitation; he was a marshmallow. He was a good man who was always ready to help his neighbor. He has a large extended family, and one little young man named after him, Baby Ben Beatty, that lives in Arizona.

Ben leaves behind so many friends, his family is taken care of. He would like any donations to be made to hospice.

When you think of Ben, please think of him with a smile.

A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 10, at the Columbia Mortuary in Columbia Falls.