C. Earlene Shelley

CARBONDALE - Catherine Earlene Shelley, 71, of Carbondale, passed away peacefully on Saturday, March 25th. She was born March 25, 1946 in Champaign, Illinois, the only child and daughter of Earl and Delores Anders.



Earlene graduated from Champaign Central High School and Parkland College, and carried on her love for history by taking additional courses at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Earlene lived out her strong belief in the importance of education by tutoring young adults in completing their GED. She spent the last 40 years working in the healthcare field as a Pharmacy Technician, a Medical Supply Manager, and a Dental Office Manager.



Earlene will be remembered as a kind person with a positive attitude who loved to laugh and make others smile. She was best known in southern Illinois as the Dog Treat Lady. Starting her own homemade dog treat business at the Carbondale Farmers Market, “Earls Pearls”, was one of her greatest achievements in life. She loved creatively naming each of her dog treats after her furry friend customers and they loved greeting her every Saturday morning. In addition to running Earls Pearls, she was deeply devoted to her own dog, Daisy Mae. Her customers and her Farmers Market family brought tremendous joy to her in the latter years of her life. Earlene’s greatest love was spending time with her daughter.



She is survived by her daughter, Stephanie Shelley, and her partner Linda Schuette of Toronto, Ontario; and two cousins, Mick (Charlotte) Grounds of Springfield, Illinois and Vicki (John) Barnard of St Charles, Missouri. She leaves behind life-long friends, Lisa Kirby and Pat Thompson. Earlene also cherished the many friends she made at the Villas of Holly Brook where she lived the last four years of her life.



She was preceded in death by her mother, Delores Anders and her father, Earl Anders.



The family would like to thank the staff at the Villas of Holly Brook for all of the care and love shown to Earlene. The family also wishes to thank the nurses, physicians, and staff at Herrin Hospital for the compassionate care Earlene was given in her final days.



Celebration of life services will be held at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 1, 2017 at Meredith Funeral Home in Carbondale. A time of visitation will be from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the funeral home. Memorial donations are the preferred form of remembrance and may be made to the Jackson County Humane Society or the Little Red Door Cancer Agency.