Betty Jo (Essick) Shelton

Mrs. Betty Jo Essick Shelton, 87, of Pilot Mountain, North Carolina, passed away on Friday, February 16th, 2024 at Northern Regional Hospital with her family by her side.

Betty was loved by all that knew her. She loved everybody and she especially loved the Lord. She was a faithful member of Sulphur Springs Baptist Church in Pilot Mountain, North Carolina.

Betty worked at the Brook Cove Tobacco plant and then R.J. Reynolds for 30+ years until retiring. She loved to go shopping for her family and go out to eat but she especially loved going to church. She loved the Lord with all her heart and wasn’t afraid to show it.

Betty was preceded in death by her parents, Johnny Lewis and Delmon Hazel Essick of Pilot Mountain, North Carolina. One brother, Fount June Essick of Pilot Mountain, North Carolina. A son, Ricky Thomas Shelton of Pilot Mountain, North Carolina; her husband, Chester Thomas Shelton of Pilot Mountain, North Carolina; and granddaughter, Leslie Michelle Atkins of Pilot Mountain, North Carolina.

Left to cherish her memory is a daughter, Vickie S. Ruszkowski (John) of Pinnacle, North Carolina; a son, Larry Dwayne Shelton of Pilot Mountain, North Carolina; seven grandchildren; twenty-four great-grandchildren; ten great-great-grandchildren and two on the way.

Funeral Services will be held on Wednesday the February 21st, 2024 at Sulphur Springs Baptist Church , 164 Sulphur Springs Church Road, Pilot Mountain, North Carolina 27041. Visitation will be held from 3pm-4pm with funeral at 4pm. Pastor Ron Chamblin of Sulphur Springs Baptist Church will be officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery directly after the service.

Cox-Needham Funeral Home is respectfully serving the Shelton family. 

Please sign the guestbook at www.coxneedham.com, www.facebook.com/coxneedham.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Betty Jo (Essick) Shelton, please visit our floral store.