At the time of his death, Bill lived in an apartment in Aurora and worked at the Lowry Campus of the Community College of Aurora which is located in Denver. His heart attack occurred there and he was rendered unconscious and probably dead by it, though he was transported to a hospital in Aurora before he was formally pronounced deceased. That is why his death certificate states his death to have occurred in Aurora.

The obituary written by Victoria for Bill and published by the Horan and McConaty Funeral Home in Aurora:
Once upon a time in a magical land (Safford, Arizona) a man, Frank D. Shelton, and a woman, Adeline (Addie) L. (Zahrt) Shelton, started a family. 1 + 1 = 2. They had a lovely daughter, Anne (Shelton) White. 1 + 2 = 3. One day in September (the 10th to be exact) of 1953 a mathemagician, William (Bill) Alan Shelton, appeared and joined their family. 2 + 3 = 5. The family grew again when John (Rocky) Shelton boomed into the world. 3 + 5 = 8. The family could not go without a mechanically minded personality, so they brought brother Barry (Bear) Shelton home to entertain. 5 + 8 = 13. Little Anne so wanted a baby sister that Frank and Addie searched the world and found Kaye (Shelton) Congdon. 8 + 13 = 21.
Bill, the mathmagician, didn't know he was a math magician but everything around him contained something fascinating that had to be explored. He graduated high school but wasn't quite sure what to do with himself. After a couple of years trying out different "professions", he knew what he didn't want to do, so he enlisted in the Army where he served three years in communications. 13 + 21 = 34.
Bill returned home after his tour and realized he still wasn't satisfied. He was accepted into the University of Washington in Seattle where his lady friend lived. Bill thought he'd study languages and started with Russian when he discovered the language to the universe was mathematics: the mathemagician emerged from the cocoon! He married Linda K. Young and they had a son, John. 21 + 34 = 55. In the year 1980, Bill graduated with an BS in applied mathematics and was offered a position at Lockheed Missiles & Space in Sunnyvale, CA. Bill & Linda moved to discover yet another new world where they brought Donald and Robert into the world. 34 + 55 = 89.
During this time, Bill's dad, Frank decided to take a walk about in the cosmos. Frank had taught Bill to dream. He would watch over his children and inspire the dreams to continue. 55 + 89 = 144.
At Lockheed, Bill could use his magical powers to look deeper into the cosmos than he had delved before. The possibilities grew exponentially when he accepted a position in Colorful Colorado. The years in Colorado were wonderous but flew by all too soon; alas, in 2002 Linda moved to the cosmos to watch over her family. 89 + 144 = 233.
Our poor mathemagician was plunged into darkness. The language of the universe was unable to console him, in fact there were times he felt as if he was drowning in darkness. Bill returned to work where he found no solace … almost. Someone new had joined the team. He had wandered into her office the day before his beloved Linda had left him and now, he had to work with her on a mathemagical test suite. He found he could tell her things that she would not tell others … she was a secret keeper. He continued to seek her out so it should have come as no surprise when they were married. 144 + 233 = 377.
Victoria (Rohn) Shelton also had three children, Scott Zornes, Brandy Greer, and Elizabeth Plyler. Brandy even had her own daughter, Meagan. Bill nicknamed the little girl "MeagaWatt" because she just NEVER stopped moving. Meagan called Victoria her Mimi, so when Bill joined the family, she named him Pipi Bill. The mathemagician believed in education and in his first year of marriage to Victoria, he was awarded an MS from Colorado Technical University. 233 + 377 = 610.
Time passed. Robert soon had a daughter he named Brooke. Bill was ecstatic when Brooke arrived. A grandchild for Linda to watch over and a little girl at that. Bill and Linda always wanted a little girl and now they had one. Matthew Greer entered the picture adding yet another grandchild to Bill's life. A few more years passed when lo & behold, Luke, son of John, came to bring joy to everyone he touched. Bill so delighted in having small children around so he could pass on the mysteries of the mathemagical language. His favorite introduction to counting was: "Let me teach you how to count to 50. 1, 2, skip a few, 49, 50." 377 + 610 = 987.
During the time of grandchildren, Bill had left Lockheed to try other positions in aerospace. Unfortunately, older employees spent more and more time documenting and less and less time applying the mathemagics. While these jobs presented some challenges, Bill found that he was no longer satisfied with his work life. He joined the teaching team at Community College of Aurora in 2010 to teach others his mathemagical tricks. So many of the students that passed through his doors were delighted to unlock the mysteries of the universal language. 610 + 987 = 1597.
In 2012, Bill and Victoria decided to try a new venture – a quilt shop. After all some of the greatest mathemagicians were quilters. They opened their doors in 2013 and Thread Loft was born. Bill tried to teach the universal language to everyone that walked into the door and was frequently met with eye rolling. Many of the customers, did not realize they were mathemagicians too. Bill picked out the mascot, a flying pig. Several who walked through the doors wondered what a flying pig had to do with quilting. Besides being Bill's favorite mythical creature, a flying pig represents the impossible: "When pigs fly!" The motto of the shop was "Where the flying pigs roost" code phrase for impossible things happened there every day. 987 + 1597 = 2584.
Addie, Bill's mom, joined in on the exploration of the cosmos early in 2021. Bill decided it was time to make other changes and set a date to close the quilt shop. He was thinking it might be time to give thought to retiring. On November 4, 2021, Bill retired from life and started his own walk about of the cosmos. While we in our physical form miss our mathemagician terribly, it is comforting to know he is delving deeper into the secrets of the universal language. 1597 + 2584 = 4181.
NOTE: Within this Mathemagical Tale, there are arithmetic statements. For those who do not recognize them, they represent the Fibonacci Sequence and, as with the set of whole numbers, the sequence continues "to infinity and beyond!" The Fibonacci Sequence has a strong relationship with a number known as the Golden Ratio. The Golden Ratio can be applied to describe many things in nature such as the shape of a nautilus and a wave crashing on the beach. Bill would even apply it to his quilt designs. More information concerning Fibonacci can easily be found online. Bill would love to see you explore his universe of mathemagics.
Services to celebrate the life of Bill Shelton will be held as follows:
November 18, 2021 at 3:00 – a wake to share your stories at the Launch Pad Brewery located at 884 S. Buckley Rd. Aurora, CO 80017
November 20, 2021 at 3:00 – a celebration of life at Horan & McConaty located at 11150 E. Dartmouth Ave. Aurora, CO 80014
When Bill met Victoria, he wore the exact same thing every day. His wardrobe was composed of seven blue shirts, five pairs of blue jeans, seven t-shirts, seven pairs of socks, you get the idea. It was dubbed "Bill's Uniform" as a joke. In fact, Bill and Victoria both wore "Bill's Uniform" when they got married, blue shirts and blue jeans. Please wear "Bill's Uniform" when in attendance; Bill would find it funny. Thank you.
Bill cared for both his son, Robert, and his wife, Linda, during their battles with cancer. He gave directly to those suffering from this horrific disease that caused them financial crisis. Bill believed in the research and the care provided at St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. Please, in lieu of flowers, consider making a donation to Bill's Fund: http://giftfunds.stjude.org/William_Shelton.

Obituary in the Gila Herald published January 5, 2022:
William Alan Shelton, born in Safford, Arizona, on Sept. 10, 1953, died in Colorado on Nov. 4, 2021. Bill was a mathematician, a wanderer, a smeller of roses, a learner of everything under the sun, and a teacher.
As a young boy, Bill enjoyed solo hikes through the deserts surrounding Safford, especially around the base and flanks of Mount Graham. Joining the Army at the age of 21, he served at Fort Lewis in Washington State, where he met his first wife, Linda. After Bill finished his enlistment, they married in 1977 and had their first son, John, while Bill attended the University of Washington. In 1980, the tiny family moved to Sunnyvale, California, where Bill started work with the Lockheed Missiles and Space Company. In Sunnyvale, two more sons, Donald and Robert, were born. In 1995, Bill moved his family to Aurora, Colorado, where he continued to work for Lockheed for a time, and where he lived the remainder of his days. Linda died in 2002, their sons moved out to begin their lives, and Bill married Victoria Rohn in 2003, who brought her daughters, Elizabeth and Brandy, and son, John, into the family.
After marrying Victoria, Bill retired from corporate life to establish a quilt shop with Victoria while simultaneously teaching part-time at the Community College of Aurora. Officially a "part-time" teacher, this label barely does justice to Bill's love of teaching. He spent many hours at the school, grading papers, teaching classes, and supporting students. He was a favorite of the students, earning a "Best Professor" award from the student body organization.
Bill had many hobbies. He studied languages, delving first into Russian during his college years and later into German. He loved nature; he day-hiked often and sometimes preferred to walk places even within the city when a car would have been more efficient. He loved family; he was a prolific genealogical hobbyist. He loved the stars and astronomy, participating in astronomy clubs, and often taking his family outside at night to watch satellites or meteor showers. And he loved people, often putting people at ease with a kind word or a bad math joke.
Bill loved to see the beauty of wherever he was. Bill leaves a legacy of learning with constant curiosity, teaching with humble and deliberate kindness, and appreciation for the beautiful things and people around us.
Bill is predeceased by his parents, Frank Shelton and Adeline (Addie) Shelton, and his first wife, Linda.
A graveside memorial service will be held on Jan. 8, at 11 a.m. at the Lebanon Cemetery, with a luncheon following at Victory Fellowship Church at 555 Entertainment Ave. Safford, AZ, 85546.

The obituary written and read aloud by Bill's son John Shelton at William's burial service in Arizona:

William Alan Shelton, born in Safford, Arizona on 10 September 1953, died in Colorado on 4 November 2021 at the age of 68. "Bill" as he was known most of his life, and "Billy" when he was younger, was a man of great learning who loved to gather knowledge and share it with others.
As a young boy, Bill enjoyed solo hikes through the deserts surrounding Safford, especially around the base and flanks of Mount Graham. Joining the army at the age of 21, he trained as a communications specialist at several locations throughout the United States but served most of his time at Fort Lewis in Washington State, where he met his first wife Linda. After Bill finished his enlistment, they married in 1977 and had their first son John while Bill attended the University of Washington. In 1980, the tiny family moved to Sunnyvale, California, where Bill started more than two decades of work with the Lockheed Missiles and Space Company. In Sunnyvale, two more sons, Donald and Robert, were born. In 1995, Bill moved his family to Aurora, Colorado, where he continued to work for Lockheed for a time, and where he lived the remainder of his days. Linda died in 2002, his sons moved out to begin their lives, and Bill married Victoria Rohn in 2003, who brought her daughters Elizabeth and Brandy and son John into the family.
After his marriage to Victoria, Bill grew away from the corporate life and ultimately retired from it to establish a quilt shop with Victoria in Aurora, Colorado, while simultaneously teaching part-time at the Community College of Aurora. Officially a "part-time" teacher, this label barely does justice to Bill's love of teaching. He spent many hours at the school, grading papers, teaching classes, and supporting students. He was a favorite of the students, earning a "Best Professor" award from the student body organization.
Bill was a wanderer, a smeller of roses, a learner of everything under the sun, and a teacher. Bill studied languages, deeply delving first into Russian during his college years and later into German when prompted by Elizabeth for a class, and he dabbled in many others. He loved mathematics and considered it to be the underlying language of the universe; his undergraduate degree at the University of Washington was in Applied Mathematics. Bill also studied several computer programming languages and used them to great effect in his technical work, eventually obtaining a Master's of Computer Science degree at the Colorado Technical University in 2003.
Bill had many other hobbies as well. He loved nature and being outdoors. He day-hiked often, and sometimes preferred to walk places even within the city when a car would have been more efficient. He loved family; he was a prolific genealogical hobbyist and often took time to attend his sons' sports and school events. He loved the stars and astronomy, participating in astronomy clubs and often taking his family outside at night to watch satellites cross the sky or to observe meteor showers. And he loved people, often putting people at ease with a kind word or a bad math joke. He loved to see the beauty of wherever he was. Bill leaves a legacy of learning with constant curiosity, teaching with humble and deliberate kindness, and appreciation for the beautiful things and people around us.