About Phil
Phillip was born in Phoenix, Arizona on July 4, 1990. He was born to Paul and Michelle (Seward) Shelton. At the time Paul worked as a carpenter in Southern California and Michelle was staying home to raise Phil. They had a little house in Phoenix off of 20th Street and Campbell.
When Phillip was three months old Paul and Michelle moved to Oceanside. They lived there a very short period of time before moving to Northern, California. They lived in Galt, California. On January 4th, 1991 they drove back to Tempe, Arizona. In May of 1991, Paul was called back to work in Southern California and Michelle chose to go to Nebraska and stay with her sister as opposed to living with her in-laws in Tempe.
Phillip celebrated his first 4th of July and his first birthday in Papillion, Nebraska. He was with his mom, Aunt Brenda, Uncle Brad and his cousins, Sheila and April. He was just starting to walk around furniture. He wore a white jumpsuite with red and blue accents. We cut and spiked his hair and he was a living doll. What a great baby he was….so easy. We gave him a chocolate cake and he didn't like being messy so he had a hard time digging into it. After a taste or two he was hooked.
We moved to LaVista, NE a few months later and lived there until Phillip's brother, Sam Edward, was born in May of 1992. When Sam was just a few months old we moved to Millard, Nebraska. Phillip had a big backyard to play in in Millard and he liked it very much. He had a turtle sandbox and loved to pick dandylions for his mom. Phillip was always a big help to his mom and dad. He was a great big brother to the younger kids.
In Millard, Phillip's dad was going to nursing school and he delivered papers each night. Paul would leave the house around 3:00 AM and get home around 6:00 AM. Each morning before Paul got home, Phil would get out of bed with his blanket and go wait by the front door to watch for Paul to come in the driveway. Once Paul was home, they would have breakfast together. This went on for over three years. Phillip was always a morning person.
In 1995 Phillip and his family moved to Iowa. They bought ten acres with a barn and lots of out buildings. Phillip loved to play in the snow and play outside. We had some geese and the geese were mean to him so he was sort of afraid of them. He had his own language that he made up and he even gave his siblings nicknames. Emma was Giltz and Josie was Bunnis or Borderlaunch.
In 1998 Phillip and his family moved to Norwood, Colorado. Colorado was way different than anywhere else we had lived. Phillip met some good friends there name Chris and Thomas. He enjoyed playing with them very much. They had a parrot that could talk. We didn't live there very long and were soon back in Arizona living with Phillip's grandparents while our new house was being built in Queen Creek.
We lived in Queen Creek, Arizona until 2004. Phillip loved his friends in the neighborhood and was still good friends with Joey Rice and Ryan Fruge up until his death. In 2004 we moved to Gilbert, Arizona.
Phillip struggled in school and Gilbert schools were not helpful. At some point I felt they labeled him a misfit and actually piled more work on him than was necessary. He had one teacher who wanted him to cut his hair and conform to her way of doing things. I wish we had fought harder…he had to pass a test she was giving him to pass the year and he did and she still failed him because she said he talked during the test. Gilbert put him in the Gilbert Learning Center or ACE. This was the downfall of Phillip in my opinion. This is where he was exposed to drugs and made new friends that were also hurting and displaying self destructive behavior. I wish I had checked into this school more instead of trusting the Gilbert Public Schools.
Phillip finished out his 8th grade at ACE and then wanted to go to Basha High School since he had made new friends there. After our experience with Gilbert schools we decided to allow him to go to Basha. He did have some old friends that went there too. He played football in 9th grade and he was pretty good…he had a hard time learning the plays. He seemed to enjoy it.
Phillip lived in Gilbert and Chandler off an on for the rest of his life. He was killled in an auto accident on September 1, 2012.
So beautiful, Michelle! What a loving tribute to your son, whom you must miss every moment of every day. I loved reading about his life! Your intentions will remain in my prayers as you and your husband, as well as Phillip's siblings continue your grief journey. I look forward to seeing more pictures of Phillip when I get to meet you in person!!
Thank you Sallee! Hope you are well.