Letha Christine Sheldon

Letha Christine Sheldon, 95, of Evant, passed away on Thursday, November 28, 2024, Thanksgiving Day.  She was born to James Doyle and Stella Mae Lanier Manning on December 25, 1928, on the family farm near the Eliga community of Coryell County.  Her middle name is Christine, being named after Christmas.

She attended school in Copperas Cove until the family moved west of Evant in 1942.  She completed grades 9-12 in Evant, graduating in 1946.  She married Leslie Sheldon on November 28, 1946, Thanksgiving Day.  She was married in a double ceremony with her best friend, Ruth.

They lived in Odessa and then moved to Lubbock when Leslie decided to attend Texas Tech University. Next, they moved to Anson, where he began his teaching career as a Vocational Agriculture teacher. After one year, they moved to Evant for him to continue teaching. Here, they lived and raised their three children.

When the children were of school age she began working at area livestock auctions in Lampasas, Lometa, Hamilton, and Evant.  In 1976, she decided to open her own business on the square in Evant called Country Antiques.  Here she did picture framing, personal works of art, and held painting classes for young and old alike.

Later she decided to continue her education in pursuit of a long-held dream of becoming a teacher.  Moving to Stephenville, she attended Tarleton State University as a full-time student.  She graduated in December of 1993 at the age of 65.  She spent the rest of her career inspiring many students with her love of education and art by teaching 1st grade and art classes to K-12 in Evant, and ESL and art in Star.  She retired in 2008 at the age of 80.

After retirement, she devoted more time to the Coryell County Historical Commission by extensively researching local history and collecting photos and stories.  She also wrote historical articles for the Evant Star for over 10 years.  She stayed active by continuing her gardening, painting, teaching private art classes, and spending time with family.  She especially enjoyed doing crossword puzzles, playing her harmonica, singing, and playing dominoes with anyone brave enough to go against her.  She was an active member of the Evant Church of Christ for many years.

She was preceded in death by her parents, brothers, JD Jr. and DJ Manning, her son, Dwight, and her husband, Leslie.  She is survived by Dennis and Cindy Sheldon of Evant, Darlene and David Marwitz of Marfa, granddaughters, Leah Yocham and Lanna Sheldon of Evant, and great-granddaughters, Addison and Zoe Yocham of Evant. 

Graveside services will be held on Saturday, November 30, 2024, at 1 pm at Langford Cemetery in Evant, TX.