Mary Ann Townsend Shelley went to her eternal home on July 9, 2026. She did not suffer, and she lived fully till her last breath. She was born on June 1, 1932, in Easley, SC to Joel Davis and Ruth Walden Townsend. She had a younger brother Joel Walden Townsend, whom she adored. The family lived in Columbia, SC for all of Mary Ann's youth. She attended Dreher High School and was in the first graduating class (1956) of Bachelor of Nursing from the University of South Carolina.

She married the brother of one of her six classmates, Mary Florence, soon after graduation. She loved to tell the story that he never asked her to marry him, he just said repeatedly, "I'm going to marry you." Euel Hudson Shelley married the love of his life on December 28, 1956. They continued their lives, inseparable, in Euel's hometown of Nichols, SC. Mary Ann had to adjust to small town life, but she did so with determination and a sense of purpose.

She joined Nichols Baptist Church, the church of Euel's family, the first Sunday she arrived in town. She noticed they didn't have a young couple's Sunday School class, so she quickly worked on getting one started. Thereafter, she was active in Nichols Baptist Church, considering it her home. She sang in the choir, participated in preparing meals for special occasions and bereaved families, helped with Vacation Bible School, and was a major planner in most decisions the church made for decades. She was an integral member of the Nichols community.

She had three daughters who loved her and tried to follow in her footsteps, Mary Elizabeth (Beth) (Egor Shulman), Linda Katherine, and Charlotte Townsend (Jack Reed), a grandson, Daniel Hudson Shelley, and a niece, Harriet Elvington Enzor. She is predeceased by her parents, her brother, Joel, sister-in-law, Mary Florence Shelley Elvington, and Teresa Irene Grace Elvington, her beloved niece.

She leaves behind a sister-in-law, Jean Shelley Andrews, brother-in-law and sister-in-law, C.P. and Betty Mincey, nieces, Julie Andrews Barr, Susan Townsend Rogers, Cindy Mincey Legette, nephews, Charles Mincey and Kenneth Mincey, many very special great nephews and nieces, and a host of relatives and friends who filled her heart to the brim. Mary Ann loved spending time in her yard, and she maintained close ties with friends from early childhood and those made in her community and church.

She was an avid reader, and as a younger woman she loved to travel, especially to church retreats or to learn of early Christian history. She was a member of the Nichols Garden Club in earlier years, the Auxiliary of the American Legion, the Drowning Creek Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and United Daughters of the Confederacy. She was a strong woman. But most of all, she was a woman of faith and prayer.

She and Euel lived 69 years together, many of those years holding hands. They were seldom apart. And they truly lived a covenant marriage. The last few years have been spent in their daughter Linda's home in Deercroft, NC. She and Euel enjoyed the best of everything, being surrounded by God's beauty, water, animals that entertain them for endless hours, and their children who cared for them with the love learned from their parents. Each day she spoke of Jesus's great sacrifice so that we could enjoy salvation. Her legacy is to live well and to believe in Christ.

The family will receive friends from 11:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m., Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in the sanctuary of Nichols Baptist Church. A funeral service will follow beginning at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday with Reverend Scott Moody officiating. Interment will be at Riverside Cemetery in Nichols.

If you would like to remember Mary Ann, donations may be made in her memory to Nichols Baptist Church, P.O. Box 148, Nichols, South Carolina 29581.

An online guestbook is available at www.mearesfh.com

Services are respectfully provided by Meares Funeral Home of Mullins.