Julia Mae (Risher) Shelton

Ms. Julia Mae “PAT” Shelton, daughter of the late Willie Gibb and Annie Mae Meynard Risher, was born August 14, 1956, in Smoaks South Carolina.  One year after her birth, her mother and father decided to move to New Jersey, where they settled down and started their new journey. She entered into eternal rest on November 16, 2021, at her residence in Smoaks, South Carolina.

Julia attended the public school # 12 in Paterson New Jersey, she also attended John F. Kennedy high school in Paterson New Jersey where she received her High School Diploma. Julia worked hard all her life. She then decided to further her education at The Nancy Taylor Business Institute, where she received an Associate Degree in business. Julia was family oriented and later decided to work for her father as an Executive Secretary for his business in Brooklyn, New York at Risher Construction Company.  After working for him for a few years, she decided to take her education further becoming a paralegal. She worked for and trained many lawyers to be “The Top Shelf” of the law firm. She worked for several big law firms, Gibble and Gibble, Milli and Wright and David Zendell. With all that she learned throughout those years of experience; she was able to help her family as well with the knowledge she received. She excelled at everything she did and dabbled in real estate law as well. Julia was very well rounded in the legal field which she worked in for 25 years.

Julia has always been a God-Fearing Woman, she attended Christ Temple Baptist Church in her early years, her faith in the Lord was strong and unchanging.  She gave her life to God in her early 40’s and always prayed for any and everyone who needed it. She encouraged her family, uplifted, and was always ready to give you a scripture for whatever you were going through. She then decided to do more for the Lord, rededicating her life to Christ at Power of Praise in Paterson, New Jersey, where she served as an Usher in 2007, and had been doing the Lord’s work ever since then.

 After years of living in New Jersey, she then decided to relocate back to her hometown of Smoaks, South Carolina where she lived for the duration of her life.

Julia was loved by all. She had a pleasant personality, and oh let’s not leave out she could literally talk for hours, she loved sports cars and she would come to South Carolina every summer to showcase her car and win trophies. She was a great cook, and if anyone knew her and her cooking, she was famous for her HOMEMADE SPAGHETTI. NO ONE in the family could replicate her amazing recipe. We tried, Lord knows we tried and just couldn’t get it right. 

She leaves behind three wonderful children, Tonia (Steven) Green of Paterson, New Jersey, Crashon Shelton of Hackensack, New Jersey, Cinorya Shelton of Winston-Salem, North Carolina; two step-children, Vanessa and Nakia Shelton of Paterson, New Jersey; Seven grandchildren; two great grandchildren; four Siblings, one Brother, Willie Risher Jr, of Smoaks, South Carolina, and three sisters, Viceina Risher (Boogie) of Ruffin, South Carolina, Vicky Linder, (Roger) of Walterboro, South Carolina, and Mary Ann White of Paterson, New Jersey; one half-brother Karlett "Kareem" Myrick of Paterson, New Jersey; two uncles; three aunts, and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Julia Mae (Risher) Shelton, please visit our floral store.