Richard "Rich" I. Shelly , 77, of Sellersville, PA, went home to be with the Lord on Tuesday, February 11, 2025.

He was the loving husband of Pearl Leatherman Shelly for 53 years and devoted father of Ryan Shelly (companion, Kelly Bruno) of Pennsburg, PA; Melissa Shelly Schofield (husband, Michael) of Ocean Springs, MS. He was a proud Pappy to granddaughters, McKenna Shelly and Rowan Shelly, and grandsons, Brennan Shelly and Brian Schofield.

Born at Grand View Hospital in Sellersville, PA, in 1947, the eldest child of the late Earl and Mabel Halteman Shelly, Rich was raised in Telford, PA, surrounded by both sides of his parents' families who lived nearby. On one legendary day of his young childhood, he finagled three lunches— one served by his mother and one with each grandmother!

He was raised attending Franconia Mennonite Church and graduated from Souderton Area High School in Souderton, PA, in 1965. Richard attended Goshen College in Goshen, IN, for 2 years and then served in the I-W service at the Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Sarasota, FL, for 2 years, during which time he met his future wife, Pearl, while home on break. After his time in the I-W, he married Pearl while completing his degree in Accounting at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA.

Early in his career, Rich passed, not without considerable consternation, the Certified Public Accountancy exam and worked as a CPA for Nissen, Dunlap, & Pritchard in Colmar, PA. He worked at several accounting firms throughout his career doing both tax auditing and taxes. For the last two decades of his career, he was employed by the Stanley N. Booz accounting firm, which later became Weinstein & Co., in Doylestown, PA, where he continued working part-time during tax season until his passing. He enjoyed doing taxes, his colleagues, and his boss, and he did not enjoy cold winter days, so he felt he had the best of all worlds by working part-time.

Richard, along with Pearl, was a 50-year member of Penn Valley Church in Telford, where he played on the church softball team many years, logging innings as the oldest player on the team by the time he hung up his glove. With no former coaching or soccer background, he read and watched videos on both topics in order to volunteer as head coach for his daughter's soccer steam at the Deep Run Valley Sports Association in the early '90's. One season, he managed to bring a team made of seasoned and beginner players together to win a hard-won championship game on a freezing cold rainy day!

Throughout his life, Richard had several areas of enjoyment that never wavered, the most treasured of which was having time with the whole family, especially when it involved holiday meals or vacations. For Rich, there was no less enjoyment of "in-laws" when it came to his children's spouses and Pearl's side of the family, who he always enjoyed during family gatherings. He and Pearl, vacationed throughout the US as well as Caribbean cruises, where he first ziplined and snorkeled in his mid-60's. He was passionate about annual family vacations, starting in the kids' younger years and later to the Outer Banks, NC, where Rich and Pearl have a cottage. While Richard coordinated the project, upon its completion in 1993, the young nieces and nephews named it, "Auntie Pearl's house," which became a long-running family joke. Richard came up with its official name: "Shell-y-bration." For a week each summer, the family did little more than sit, walk, and swim on the beautiful Southern Shores beach, eat delicious home cooked meals, and watch a sunset from Jockey's Ridge State Park.

Rich was a lifelong EAGLES fan, enjoyed maintaining a large vegetable garden, growing all kinds of delicious produce, and was an avid reader of all things sports, travel, and investments. He had an encyclopedic memory for sports trivia spanning 6 decades of sports history, especially football and baseball. We should not leave out that Rich savored a good meal, piping hot coffee, and all kinds of desserts.

He was a godly, hardworking, kind, generous man who was family-oriented and kept active right until the day he suffered a fatal brain bleed, which occurred during the Super Bowl. While he did not see the end of the game, he knew the EAGLES were dominating when he suddenly could not see the screen early in the game, the first sign that something was very wrong with our robust husband and father.

In addition to his immediate family, Rich is survived by his sister, Carol Allebach, of Souderton, PA; sisters-in-law, Darlene Yoder (Sanford) of Sellersville, PA, Beverly Leatherman of Quakertown, PA, Debra Seuren (Scott) of Telford, PA; brother-in-law, Steve Leatherman (Wendy) of Perkasie, PA, and numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews.

In addition to his parents, Richard was preceded in death by Pearl's parents, Wilson and Dorothy Leatherman, and brothers-in-law, Phil Allebach and Clifford Leatherman.

Visitation will be held Monday, February 17, 2025, 10-11:00 a.m. at Penn Valley Church, 320 N. 3rd Street, Telford, PA, followed by a funeral service at 11:00 a.m.

Following a luncheon at Penn Valley, burial will take place at Deep Run Mennonite Church East.

Arrangements by: Anders-Detweiler Funeral Home & Crematory, 130 East Broad Street, Souderton, PA 18964. To send online condolences to the family, visit www.andersfh.com.