Lillian Britt Phillips Shelton

An attempt to capture Yibbett within a few words feels futile for those who knew her, so we’ll use many.

Lillian was born in Reno, Nevada, on July 30, 1944, to Sidney Price Phillips and Lillian Carolyn Bell Phillips of Eustis, FL. Her father was a Lt. Colonel in the United States Air Force; therefore, she and her dear best-friend brother, Robin, were raised throughout the United States and abroad. She spent her childhood living in Reno, NV, Denver, CO, Okinawa, Tacoma, WA, Biloxi, MS, Colorado Springs, CO, Charleston, SC, and London, England. As a young girl, she was a dancer, played the harp, and enjoyed reading. She graduated high school from Ashley Hall, in Charleston in 1962 and went on to undergraduate school at St. Andrews College in Laurinburg, NC, graduating with a BA in Fine Arts, emphasis in Theatre, in 1966. She headed for the bright lights of New York City, pursuing a theatre career that never really started. She enjoyed employment with the National Council of Churches in NYC, the Armed Services YMCA in Newport, RI, the Rhode Island Correctional Institute for Women, and the Area Agency for Aging in Bethlehem, PA - proving that a liberal arts degree prepares one for almost anything.

During her employment as a Program Director at the YMCA in Newport, RI, she met the love of her life, George Thomas Shelton, in 1969. Tom was a 2nd Class Petty Officer in the United States Navy and stationed in Newport. They married in Ormond Beach, FL, on October 3, 1970, where Yibbett’s parents lived. They lived in Newport, RI, for five years while Tom completed his Navy service and college education. They moved to Bethlehem, PA, for Tom to attend Moravian Theological Seminary, where he pursued his call to pastoral ministry in the Moravian Church. They became parents to Lillian Sidney (Shelton) Youngs and Thomas Christian Shelton while in Bethlehem.

They served in Moravian churches in Clemmons, NC, and Longwood, FL, before answering the call to Friedberg Moravian Church in Winston-Salem, NC in 1984.

The seeds of Faith and Truth were planted throughout her life, but the Holy Spirit began to stir in 1973, leading to her full surrender to the Lord Jesus through Bible Study Fellowship in the early 1980s. God used her intellect through intensive study of His Word to connect her new heart and rich mind.

In 1985, she began working at Wake Forest University in the Fine Arts Department as an arts presenter for the Secrest Artist Series. By far, the position of longest duration and greatest joy was as the Director of the Series beginning in 1998. She led, worked, and collaborated with campus leaders to enhance students' appreciation of the performing arts and offered the larger community the opportunity to witness the talents of world-class soloists, orchestras, ensembles, and dance groups. At Wake Forest, she flourished in an environment of higher learning, high expectation, and high culture. Introducing students to classical music in all its iterations was a challenge worth meeting. She wanted them to understand that experiencing the best of the classics and the most promising of new performance work was a rich part of their education. In 2003, she enrolled courageously as a graduate student at Wake in the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS) program. She earned her Master's Degree in 2006 at the age of 62, proudly walking across the stage on the quad.

As a mother, she found more love to give than she thought she had and yet another outlet for all things nurturing, growing, and cultivating. She never played music in the car, however, she said she’d rather “Hear the sweet sounds of her children’s voices.” She cheered her daughter through countless athletic achievements and was there in the pew to hear her son preach his first sermon from the pulpit. She tirelessly enriched her children’s lives, introducing them to a myriad of creative and cultural pursuits, and she never failed to read to them from the Scriptures and lead bedtime prayers with nightly singing of “Jesus Loves Me.”

She was “Yibbee” to her eight grandchildren. No one grandmother’d like Yibbee. If she discovered that a ‘grand’ had an interest, it was sealed - Prepare for that interest to show up in Christmas presents, a sewing machine, dance classes, summer camp tuition, and mailed clippings from stacks of magazines, catalogs, and newspapers. She saw nothing but brightness and color in her grandchildren’s future.

When her beloved parents declined in health and independence, she took a leave of absence from Wake Forest and devoted herself full-time to honoring her father and mother until they passed in 2010, four months apart.

Yibbett’s love of all things creative flowed throughout her life. She was a skilled seamstress, making clothes for herself and others, quilting blankets for newborns, and doll clothes for her grandchildren. She loved to garden and took meticulous care of plants and flowers. Her handwriting was unique and all her own. She loved hosting beautifully set tables, having prepared “interesting” dishes for all to try. She had a voracious love of reading - always with an open, curious mind and a book in her hands.

She served her Friedberg church family by teaching an adult Sunday School class devotedly, playing in the handbell choir, singing in the choir, and supporting her husband’s ministry in countless ways.

For decades, she was a legend one week of every summer as a camp counselor at Laurel Ridge Moravian Camp in NC. ‘Camp’ was the priceless combination of so many things she found precious: her Savior, His creation and Word, people to meet, kids to enrich, camp songs to sing, silly skits to perform, and experiences to share. Last summer, she was urged by her family to “sit this one out.” She didn’t, and they are very happy she was determined to participate.

After retirement in 2013, she and Tom moved into her parents’ home, “The Ranch”, in DeLeon Springs, FL. There, she could immerse herself in her love of the outdoors through gardening, becoming a Master Gardener in Volusia County, volunteering her time at the Agricultural Center, Deland Library, and the Barberville Pioneer Settlement.

She was a rare example of contentment in motion. She wouldn’t stand still, not because she was restless, but because there were always more interesting things to pursue, new things to learn, and wonderful people to serve.

To her last moment in this life, she was proven to be a faithful disciple of the Lord Jesus, a passionately devoted wife of fifty-five years, a present and nurturing mother and grandmother, and a steadfast and selfless friend.

She was quite simply the most interesting woman in the world.

Lillian is survived by her husband, Rt. Rev. G. Thomas Shelton; her son, Thomas Christian Shelton and wife, Mara Grace Milano Shelton, her daughter, Lillian Sidney Shelton Youngs, and husband Bobby Youngs; her grandchildren, Adelyn Grace Shelton, Ella Christian Shelton, Fisher Michael Thomas Shelton, Nora Lilliana Shelton, Eliza Rose Shelton, Judah Lion Shelton, Robin Alexander Youngs, and Jesse Shelton Youngs; her sister-in-law, Isa Micaeli Phillips; her nephew, Christopher Phillips, and wife, Sophie Phillips; and her great nephew, Odin Donovan Phillips. She is preceded in death by her parents and brother, Sidney (Robin) Norris Phillips, who died in 2001.

Memorial services will be held at Rolling Hills Moravian Church in Longwood, FL, on November 2 at 3 pm, livestreamed at rollinghillsmoravian.org, and at Friedberg Moravian Church in Winston-Salem, NC, on November 8 at 2 pm, visitation beginning at 11 am. The Friedberg service will be livestreamed at https://friedberg.church/shelton. 

Memorial donations may be made to Laurel Ridge Camp and Conference Center (124 Pendry Dr. Laurel Springs, NC 28644; laurelridge.org); Friedberg Moravian Church (2178 Friedberg Church Rd, Winston-Salem, NC 27127; https://friedberg.church/give/); Rolling Hills Moravian Church (1525 West State Rd 434, Longwood, FL 32750; rollinghillsmoravian.org); Secrest Artists Series (Gift Administration Wake Forest 1834 Wake Forest Rd. Box 7227 Winston-Salem, NC 27109; https://secrest.wfu.edu.)