Claudette “Candy” Theresa Shelton passed away quietly at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse on April 23, 2020. She is predeceased by her husband Larry and infant child Jamie and survived by her daughter Robin, son Harry, son-in-law Paul and granddaughters Alexis and Morgan.
Claudette was born in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec Canada and at the age of 2 immigrated to the United States with her father Raymond and mother Irene (Robichaud) Lessard. When she turned 18 she became a naturalized citizen of the United States and spoke both English and French Canadian fluently her whole life. She was always very proud of both her French Canadian heritage and her United States citizenship.
Claudette was an accomplished typist and was known to wear the lettering off of most keyboards. She had a long and rewarding career as a Documentation Production Specialist, working on government contracts for General Electric (later Lockheed-Martin) and finished her career as a Corporate Stock Plan Administrator for a dot-com (PSINet) in the nineties. She retired from full-time work in 2005 and spent the majority of her time relaxing in Virginia with her daughter and son-in-law. In 2009 she shifted her time back to Upstate New York, living the easy relaxing life on Lake Ontario in Henderson, NY.
Throughout her life Claudette loved to travel and she was always up for adventure. She had many such adventures accompanying her husband to Rimouski Canada while he dove on the wreck of the Empress of Ireland. She also spent time in Hawaii, Utah, Arizona and her favorite destination, Disney World in Florida. Claudette also traveled internationally, visiting Mexico, England, France, Italy, and her country of birth Canada where she spent a great many trips visiting family and friends.
When she wasn’t traveling, Claudette enjoyed many hobbies. She was very creative and loved doing ceramics, water colors, needle-point, home decorating and photography. In her later years she became very fond of murder mystery audio books, trivia, and jigsaw puzzles.
Claudette always had a warm spot for animals and throughout her life had many pets, mostly dogs and a few cats. After she retired to the house on the lake, she became involved with German Shepherd rescues and saved two of her most beloved companions, Reagan and Sargent, both of whom predeceased her. They were constant companions and have now been reunited to continue their adventures in heaven.
Claudette lived a full and happy life. She enjoyed her family, her friends and her animals. She left this world as she lived in it, on her own terms. She was loved dearly and will be missed immensely. May she rest in eternal peace.
A private family service will be held on Thursday April 30 at Dreier-Giltner Funeral home, after which Claudette will be laid to rest next to her husband at the Riverside cemetery in Rochester, New York.