Aubrey Junior Shelburne

Husband, Dad, and Pawpaw: Aubrey Junior Shelburne passed peacefully into the arms of his Lord and Savior on Saturday, August 24, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. He was 81.

Aubrey was born in Roanoke, Va., on March 16, 1943. He had roots in Floyd County and Starkey before entering the Air Force on his 17th birthday; he proudly served as an airplane mechanic until his honorable discharge on May 13, 1964. After leaving the military, Aubrey returned home to Virginia where he courted and married the love of his life, Nancy Lee Alley.

Aubrey enjoyed a long and fulfilling career as a tractor-trailer driver for the Kroger Co. (Ruan) before he retired in 2000. In his younger days, he was a skydiver and jumped out of perfectly good airplanes 71 times for sport. Aubrey and Nancy loved to travel together. They went on many cruises, entered car shows, and took road trips in their tropical turquoise and white 1957 Chevy, and on their custom Harley-Davidson. Together, they put in many happy miles on the road of life. Aubrey and Nancy would have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on October 26th this year.

Aubrey loved to talk and never missed a chance to strike up a conversation, whether with a neighbor, someone in a store or a parking lot, the doctors and nurses who treated him, or his fellow veterans at the VA. He was interested in and fascinated by everyone's life story. He was a music lover and an excellent bargain hunter, he kept up with current events and liked to root for the Tampa Bay Rays. He was patriotic and loved supporting military causes.

Aubrey was predeceased by his mother, Nellie Marie Scaggs Barksdale; his stepfather, Fred Townsend Barksdale; his brother, Waltie Allen Shelburne; and his sister Ella Mae Weeks.

Left to cherish his memory are his devoted wife, Nancy Shelburne; his daughter, Kathryn Tafoya (Roger); his pride and joy, grandson, Ryland Tafoya; special niece by marriage, Deborah Hambrick (and husband Carl); his large and loving extended Tafoya family; many caring friends; and his loyal and precious furry companion, Trixie.

A funeral service to celebrate his life will be held at 1 p.m. on Sunday, September 1, 2024, at John M. Oakey & Son Funeral Home in Salem, Va. Interment will follow at Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens in Roanoke, Va.

The family will receive friends from noon until the hour of the service at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a memorial donation made to Folds of Honor, Tunnels to Towers or Wounded Warrior Project.

Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.johnmoakey.com.