\t\t\tLois Dianne (Wilkinson) Shelly \t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\tOBITUARY\t\t<\/p>\n
Lois Dianne (Wilkinson) Shelly, 91, of Bethlehem, passed away peacefully on July 28, 2026, surrounded by her loving family.<\/p>\n
\nBorn in Bethlehem on September 14, 1934, she was the daughter of the late George F. Sr. and Nina (Stehly) Wilkinson. A graduate of Liberty High School, Lois lived a life defined by faith, kindness, grace, and quiet strength. Lois was the beloved wife of the late Eastburn \u201cEd\u201d Herbert Shelly Jr., with whom she shared more than 67 years of marriage until his passing in 2021. Together, they built a loving home centered on faith, family, and unwavering devotion. Lois was a devoted wife, loving mother, cherished grandmother and great-grandmother, and faithful friend. Above all, her family was the center of her life. Lois worked briefly for Western Electric before raising her family and later worked at Hess Department Store, but her greatest calling was as a homemaker. She created a warm, welcoming home and lovingly cared for her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. A dedicated member of the former St. Matthews Lutheran Church in Bethlehem, Lois sang in the choir, served on church council, and taught Sunday School. Her faith inspired a lifetime of service as a Stephen Minister and volunteer with New Bethany Ministries Soup Kitchen, Meals on Wheels, the church food pantry, St. Luke\u2019s Hospital Gift Shop, and the Bethlehem Emergency Shelter. She was also active in the Tuesday Club, Friendship Club, several card clubs, and served as a Girl Scout leader. Lois enjoyed bowling, was an avid reader, and had a lifelong interest in English history. She treasured time with family and friends and found joy in life\u2019s simple pleasures.<\/p>\n
\nSURVIVORS: She is survived by her children, Richard Shelly and his wife, Carol, of Bath; Brian Shelly and his wife, Gail Ann, of Bethlehem; Valerie Cacciatore of Bethlehem; Melanie Olenwine and her husband, Scott, of Bethlehem; and Kevin Shelly of Bethlehem; daughter-in-law, Judi Shelly; 11 grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; sisters, Joyce McKinnon and Judith Young; and many loving nieces and nephews. In addition to her beloved husband, Ed, Lois was preceded in death by her son, Barry Shelly; son-in-law, Keith Cacciatore; grandson, Quinn McNamara; brother, George F. Wilkinson Jr.; and sister, Audrey Martin.<\/p>\n
\nSERVICES: A Memorial Service will be held at 10 A.M. on Friday, July 31, 2026, at the Cantelmi Long Funeral Home, 500 Linden Street Bethlehem, PA 18018. Burial will follow at Bethlehem Memorial Park Cemetery. A memory tribute may be placed at www.cantelmifuneralhome.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n \nCONTRIBUTIONS: In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Lois\u2019s memory to the Bethlehem Emergency Sheltering, 75 E Market St, Bethlehem, PA 18018 or to Meals on Wheels of the Greater Lehigh Valley, 1302 N Sherman St, Allentown, PA 18109.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lois Dianne (Wilkinson) Shelly OBITUARY Lois Dianne (Wilkinson) Shelly, 91, of Bethlehem, passed away peacefully on July 28,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":255269,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154],"class_list":["post-255268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=255268"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255268\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/255269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=255268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=255268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=255268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}