As many of you know, we lost my dad very suddenly and unexpectedly earlier this year. To honor him, we started the Dale Shelton Memorial Fund. He was a man who never sought any sort of glory or praise in his lifetime, and it would mean so much to be able to give him some overdue honor in his memory. He always put the needs of others before his own. My dad was good natured, laid-back, and quietly funny. He was the most selfless and reliable person I’ve ever known and the best dad I could’ve ever imagined having. He was a great husband to my mom and truly took care of those around him. We would love to have the funds to have a bench built in his honor along one of the trails he walked daily with my mom and to fund a scholarship for a graduating Fort Scott High School student each year for years to come. The details of the scholarship are yet to be determined, but we envision it being a teacher-selected scholarship that rewards a student who demonstrates many of the values my dad lived by in interactions with peers and faculty. These values include but are not limited to: humility, perseverance, diligence, patience, and kindness. If you are able and feel called to donate, we thank you so much. Also a big thank you to those who have already donated and those who have reached out to us during this indescribably difficult time. My dad deserves to be remembered and I mean it when I say your support will never be forgotten.

—Braden Shelton