Kingsport, Tenn. - Ernest Lee Shelton, 87, of Kingsport, went to be with the Lord on Friday, March 27, 2009, at Holston Valley Medical Center in Kingsport.
He was born in Wise County, Va. Appalachia, and after graduating high school, he entered the U.S. Army Air Corps. Ernest was a decorated captain of a B-24 Liberator bomber as part of the 330th Bomb Squadron of the 93rd Bomb Group in the 8th U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II. He was based in Britain and completed a full tour of 50 missions over Europe during 1944.
After serving the United States in the war, he became a civilian flight instructor for the U.S. Air Force, based in Kinston, N.C. His career as a commercial airline pilot spanned three decades with Southeast Airlines, Southern Airways and Republic Airlines, before retiring in 1981.
Ernest was a member of First Broad Street United Methodist Church.
Ernest was an accomplished musician, playing the trumpet and drums in a traveling band after the war. His love of big band music and jazz stayed with him throughout his life.
He was an avid gardener and a car enthusiast.
He collected many of the notable cars he owned, including a 1931 Model A that his grandfather purchased new. This was the same car in which he learned to drive, and he completed a full restoration in 2007.
He was preceded in death by his wife, to whom he was married for over 58 years, Nell Anderson Shelton, and his parents, Ernest L. Shelton Sr. and Maude Williams Shelton.
Arrangements: Carter-Trent Funeral Home, 520 Watauga St., Kingsport.
Military burial American Legion Cemetery in Powel Valley, Va., conducted by American Legion Hammond Post 3/265, with the Virginia National Guard. Pallbearers will be family and friends.
He was born in Wise County, Va. Appalachia, and after graduating high school, he entered the U.S. Army Air Corps. Ernest was a decorated captain of a B-24 Liberator bomber as part of the 330th Bomb Squadron of the 93rd Bomb Group in the 8th U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II. He was based in Britain and completed a full tour of 50 missions over Europe during 1944.
After serving the United States in the war, he became a civilian flight instructor for the U.S. Air Force, based in Kinston, N.C. His career as a commercial airline pilot spanned three decades with Southeast Airlines, Southern Airways and Republic Airlines, before retiring in 1981.
Ernest was a member of First Broad Street United Methodist Church.
Ernest was an accomplished musician, playing the trumpet and drums in a traveling band after the war. His love of big band music and jazz stayed with him throughout his life.
He was an avid gardener and a car enthusiast.
He collected many of the notable cars he owned, including a 1931 Model A that his grandfather purchased new. This was the same car in which he learned to drive, and he completed a full restoration in 2007.
He was preceded in death by his wife, to whom he was married for over 58 years, Nell Anderson Shelton, and his parents, Ernest L. Shelton Sr. and Maude Williams Shelton.
Arrangements: Carter-Trent Funeral Home, 520 Watauga St., Kingsport.
Military burial American Legion Cemetery in Powel Valley, Va., conducted by American Legion Hammond Post 3/265, with the Virginia National Guard. Pallbearers will be family and friends.
Kingsport, Tenn. - Ernest Lee Shelton, 87, of Kingsport, went to be with the Lord on Friday, March 27, 2009, at Holston Valley Medical Center in Kingsport.
He was born in Wise County, Va. Appalachia, and after graduating high school, he entered the U.S. Army Air Corps. Ernest was a decorated captain of a B-24 Liberator bomber as part of the 330th Bomb Squadron of the 93rd Bomb Group in the 8th U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II. He was based in Britain and completed a full tour of 50 missions over Europe during 1944.
After serving the United States in the war, he became a civilian flight instructor for the U.S. Air Force, based in Kinston, N.C. His career as a commercial airline pilot spanned three decades with Southeast Airlines, Southern Airways and Republic Airlines, before retiring in 1981.
Ernest was a member of First Broad Street United Methodist Church.
Ernest was an accomplished musician, playing the trumpet and drums in a traveling band after the war. His love of big band music and jazz stayed with him throughout his life.
He was an avid gardener and a car enthusiast.
He collected many of the notable cars he owned, including a 1931 Model A that his grandfather purchased new. This was the same car in which he learned to drive, and he completed a full restoration in 2007.
He was preceded in death by his wife, to whom he was married for over 58 years, Nell Anderson Shelton, and his parents, Ernest L. Shelton Sr. and Maude Williams Shelton.
Arrangements: Carter-Trent Funeral Home, 520 Watauga St., Kingsport.
Military burial American Legion Cemetery in Powel Valley, Va., conducted by American Legion Hammond Post 3/265, with the Virginia National Guard. Pallbearers will be family and friends.
He was born in Wise County, Va. Appalachia, and after graduating high school, he entered the U.S. Army Air Corps. Ernest was a decorated captain of a B-24 Liberator bomber as part of the 330th Bomb Squadron of the 93rd Bomb Group in the 8th U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II. He was based in Britain and completed a full tour of 50 missions over Europe during 1944.
After serving the United States in the war, he became a civilian flight instructor for the U.S. Air Force, based in Kinston, N.C. His career as a commercial airline pilot spanned three decades with Southeast Airlines, Southern Airways and Republic Airlines, before retiring in 1981.
Ernest was a member of First Broad Street United Methodist Church.
Ernest was an accomplished musician, playing the trumpet and drums in a traveling band after the war. His love of big band music and jazz stayed with him throughout his life.
He was an avid gardener and a car enthusiast.
He collected many of the notable cars he owned, including a 1931 Model A that his grandfather purchased new. This was the same car in which he learned to drive, and he completed a full restoration in 2007.
He was preceded in death by his wife, to whom he was married for over 58 years, Nell Anderson Shelton, and his parents, Ernest L. Shelton Sr. and Maude Williams Shelton.
Arrangements: Carter-Trent Funeral Home, 520 Watauga St., Kingsport.
Military burial American Legion Cemetery in Powel Valley, Va., conducted by American Legion Hammond Post 3/265, with the Virginia National Guard. Pallbearers will be family and friends.
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