LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Shelly and James Stratton met a little more than two years ago and they found a connection almost immediately.
“He’s been a great support,” Shelly said. “We’ve supported each other. We’ve had our differences, but what marriage doesn’t? We have a real strong belief that we are soulmates.”
James is a Marine Corps veteran, having served in Iraq in the 2000s. The couple married in May 2025 and decided in March of this year that RV life was the next step for them.
“It was ours; we made it our own,” Shelly said. “My husband just bought a bass guitar and loves to play bass. Maybe again someday.”
Early Monday morning, a stove fire spread out of control and consumed their mobile home in Lubbock RV Park on I-27 north of Regis Street.
Friday was Shelly’s first time to see what’s left. She tells me if she was there, things could’ve turned out much differently.
“I wouldn’t have made it out alive,” Shelly said, “because I would’ve been in the bunkhouse, which crosses right across the kitchen, and he said it caught fire so fast. I would’ve been asleep, and I don’t move very fast because I have a lot of physical ailments.”
James, and the couple’s dog, Bean, were in the RV, and while Bean made it out safely, James suffered second degree burns across his body. Doctors say he will need a skin graft on his left arm.
While Shelly is heartbroken over the loss of the RV, she says material can be replaced, but lives cannot.
“I’m just grateful he’s okay,” Shelly said. “That’s what’s most important to me. He’s my everything and I’m his reason. That’s what he calls me.”
The South Plains Marine Corps League has created this fundraiser for anyone who would like to help. Every dollar will go to James’ recovery and essential items the Stratton family is needing during this time.
“It’s the most humbling experience I’ve ever gone through,” Shelly said. People have been so gracious and giving and loving and kind. It’s overwhelming. We’re just very blessed.”
Shelly says any help is greatly appreciated, as the Stratton’s get up and start a new life from the ashes of this RV.
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