Jeremy Ellis Shelton, age 52, from Reed City, Michigan, died suddenly in his home on October 5, 2025.  

Jeremy was born in Selma, California July 14, 1973, to parents Nancy (Duren) and Eldon Shelton.  After their parents’ divorce and re-marriages, Jeremy and his sister Jamie were raised by his mom and stepfather Daniel Thornton and spent their childhood years in Vancouver, Washington with his other sisters Bonnie and Brittany.    The summer before high school, Jeremy traveled to Ketchikan, Alaska where his father had established roots with Pat (Coblentz) and his three brothers Eldon, Simon, and James.  Through this experience, Jeremy discovered his love of hunting in the mountains of Southeast Alaska’s coastal rainforest.  Jeremy chose to stay and attended Ketchikan High School where he graduated in 1992.  That following summer and into the next year, Jeremy learned the trades of painting and floor covering and started employment in the family business with Shelton & Sons.

Senior year in high school, Jeremy met and later married Brandi (Allen) on July 14, 1994, and lived in Moscow, Idaho.  Jeremy grew in the floor covering trade and met a lifelong friend, Mark, with whom Jeremy spent his final days doing what he loved most…elk hunting in the Idaho mountains. They moved to Paris, Michigan in 1996 and eventually established their home on Hawkins Road in Chase Township.  They had two daughters, Josie and Abby.  Abby remembers racing her sister to make the first pot of coffee in the morning for their dad–a small, joyful ritual that became a cherished memory.  Josie reflects on a very memorable hunt with her dad where they both shot at the biggest buck of their life.  To this day, no one knows who made the final kill, but both celebrated it as an amazing bonding experience.  During this time, there were many traditions created, trail rides, being active in 4-H with horses, and a value for having family dinners together at the table.  

Jeremy grew to become a talented floor covering installer and worked for many of the local businesses.  He started his own successful business, Shelton’s Floor Covering in 2007. Jeremy will live on because of the mentor and apprenticeship he offered to “the boys”- his brothers, when they came and stayed every summer.  It has been said that the boys learned what family was. Eldon specifically saw Jeremy as a father figure, who taught him a great deal about the floor covering trade, hunting, and fishing as all three boys did. Simon speaks of the projects and trouble he used to get into with his brother and James remembers the summers spent together.

Later, after his divorce in 2012, Jeremy shared his life with Tiffany (Johnston) Duddles and had three more wonderful daughters.  Demi treasures their times mudding, riding quads, and hunting — moments full of laughter, adventure, and the kind of fun only he could stir up.  Victoria remembers sitting beside him in the hunting blind, sharing stories and silence in equal measures.  Madalynne (Maddie) holds close the simple joy of playing and taking pictures with her dad, moments that showed his playful side and his pride in all five of his beautiful, smart, talented girls.

In the last couple years, Jeremy formed a new relationship with Jessica Spalo and recently did some traveling back to Alaska and visiting family in Las Vegas, Nevada.  It made him happy to have a newly rekindled friendship with his sister Bonnie where they talked almost daily.

Jeremy is survived by daughters Josephine (Andy) Wright, Abigail (Mason Ferguson) Shelton, Demi Shelton, Victoria Shelton, and Madalynne (Maddie) Shelton, chosen children Kyleigh Weck and Keegan Weck, granddaughter Natalie Rose Wright,  mother Nancy (Daniel) Thornton, father Eldon Shelton, step-mother Pat (David) Moen, sisters Jamie Boyd, Bonnie (Kyle) Olney, and Brittany Thornton, brothers Eldon Shelton, Simon Shelton, and James Shelton, fiancé Jessica Spalo, and many nieces, nephews, and loved ones.  He was preceded in death by his niece Madalynne Marie.

There is no easy way to say goodbye to someone you’re not ready to, to wish you had more time.  The consolation is the belief that he is in a more peaceful place.  Jeremy’s life wasn’t without hardship or imperfection.  There were wounds and battles that complicated relationships and life choices for himself and those who he loved and loved him, but he will be missed for his infectious laugh, adventurous spirit, and epic surf & turf Thanksgiving.  Friends will miss his hospitality and ability to make them feel like family.  He will be remembered as the avid fisherman and passionate hunter.  Whether casting his line for trout, steelhead, or salmon along the Muskegon River or gathered around a bonfire on his cherished 50 acres, Jeremy had a way of living boldly while also finding joy in life’s simple, rugged moments.  While acknowledging the truths of his story, the mixed emotions of an unfinished life, these are some of the qualities and moments that will be held close and remembered.

Jeremy’s daughters and their supporters will be holding his memorial luncheon at the Osceola County Posse Grounds, 21940 6 Mile Rd., Reed City, MI 49677, on October 18, 2025, from 12:00-3:00pm.  If there are any questions, please reach out to Abby Shelton at 231-349-3489.