My family and I wish to thank the people of Grand County, especially
those who were first responders, for their assistance to us as we went through
the tragic deaths of our beloved parents this past May.
Allen and Betty Shelton were involved in a crash on Red Dirt
Hill on May 15 that took both of their lives. As devastating as this was and
has continued to be, we have been blessed by the assistance of the corner’s office
and sheriff’s office during this time, and as we saw the pictures of the crash
scene, the numerous first responders that showed up to assist our parents in the
last moments of their lives.
Never imaging that we would lose them both at one time, we
needed special attention during an unbearable stretch of time, and Brenda Bock
and her staff went over and above to provide that for us.
In the aftermath, being from Denver, we needed assistance
with our parents’ possessions and disposition with their car, and Lt. Dan Meyer
from the sheriff’s office drove the contents of their car down to us in Denver.
John Erickson of the Colorado State Patrol has been especially helpful as our
victim’s advocate.
Allen and Betty were fixtures in their community in
Saratoga, Wyoming, pastoring there for more than 25 years. This loss has left a
gigantic hole in not only our lives but in the lives of those they ministered
to in Saratoga. Knowing that the people who responded to their last moments
cared and empathized with our loss and sought to minister to us during an
incomprehensible time was not only comforting to us but reassuring that for
those people their careers are much more than jobs they are a true service to those
they are there to assist.
Grand County, you can be proud of your first responders,
your coroner and sheriff’s office, and we thank them for their service to our
family.
Jim McCormick, Lakewood
son-in-law of Allen and Betty Shelton