Shelley highway honors EMT

Phyllis Hunter Shelley is shown above in a photo from the 1980s. She was killed Dec. 14, 1987, while driving an ambulance that overturned while heading to an accident west of California, Missouri.
Phyllis Hunter Shelley is shown above in a photo from the 1980s. She was killed Dec. 14, 1987, while driving an ambulance that overturned while heading to an accident west of California, Missouri.

Phyllis Shelley died Dec. 14, 1987, after the ambulance she was driving skidded on a snow-covered road west of California, Missouri, and overturned - as she and a co-worker were heading to provide medical assistance to another accident.

Seven months short of the 30th anniversary of her death, her widower and daughter are hosting a dedication ceremony at 11 a.m. Saturday for the EMT Phyllis Hunter Shelley Memorial Highway.

The ceremony will be at the Mid-Mo Ambulance Base in California, on Missouri 87 near the interchange with U.S. 50.

"EMTs and paramedics are there when we need them, in all kinds of weather, in all kinds of situations, and at all hours of the day and night," George Shelley told the News Tribune. "I want people to remember Phyllis not only as an EMT killed in action, but also as a former high school teacher, a wife and a mother.

"Phyllis volunteered her efforts to Moniteau County and California - which is the definition of citizenship."

Their daughter, Phyllis L. Shelley Stutzman, now 38, added: "The memorial dedication is a way to recognize and honor my mom for the dedication she had to her community, the life of service she embodied, and the sacrifice she and other EMTs make for neighbors in need.

"The EMS community is always there for all of us when emergencies, accidents and disasters strike. EMTs and paramedics often rush into stressful, hostile or dangerous situations, putting their lives on the line to help and save others."

Lawmakers last year approved designating a stretch of U.S. 50 in Moniteau County in Shelley's memory.

However, George Shelley wanted to have the signs marking the highway section also carry the letters "EMT," which weren't included in last year's law, so that required more work by lawmakers.

"Over the years I have come to believe that EMTs and paramedics do not get the recognition or respect that they are due," George Shelley said. "They serve their communities with little or no recognition until someone needs their services."

George Shelley currently teaches at Metro Business College and was a long-time teacher at California High School and State Fair Community College.

Stutzman, now a Presbyterian Church pastor in Emporia, Kansas, said the memorial is important for making sure "the memory of those who lose their lives in service to others are not forgotten. Sometimes memorials may seem small or may be done quietly - but whenever a public servant makes the ultimate sacrifice, that memory is honored by the family left behind (and) the community who pays respect to a fallen sister or brother.

"And no loss is easy."

Phyllis Shelley's name was added in 2001 to the National EMS Memorial's Tree of Life, memorializing EMS workers killed in the line of duty.

However, Stutzman noted, national memorial is miles away from Mid-Missouri.

"The EMS community is vitally important to the well being of all of us, and honoring those, like my mom, who gave their lives to serve others is an important reminder of the level of dedication EMTs and paramedics have to the health and safety of our communities," she said.

"This memorial honors not only my mom, but all the EMTs and paramedics who continue to serve Mid-Missouri selflessly and for the greater good."

She said Saturday's program "is the culmination of the work Dad, state Reps. Caleb Jones and David Wood, state Sen. Mike Kehoe, and others have done to make the memorial highway possible. It's a chance to say thank you to the incredible community that keeps my mom's memory alive (and) honor the Mid-Missouri EMS community that continues to improve the good service started decades ago.

"And, personally, (it's a chance) to share the story of 'Grandmommy Phyllis' with my daughter (almost 7), who is just now old enough to understand what happened all those years ago - and this piece of her family history."

Among her many activities, Phyllis Shelley was an active member of Jefferson City's First Presbyterian Church and the Eastern Star in California.

Although the Legislature designates a memorial highway, and the Transportation department erects the signs, the state does not pay the $2,400 cost for each pair of signs.

Stutzman started a "GoFundMe" page, and George reached out to the EMT and Masonic communities for financial support.

"I was completely overwhelmed by the donations and those who donated," George Shelley said. "I can never thank them enough.

"The memorial dedication is one small effort at thanking all of them."

Stutzman said she also was overwhelmed.

"I expected the Mid-Mo community to be generous and loving in their memories and memorials; that's the way things are in California and the surrounding area," she said.

"But I was incredibly humbled when friends and colleagues across the nation, many of whom never met my mom in person, donated and shared their encouragement, love, and their own tales of the times EMS in other locales was there for them when they needed help."

On her Facebook page, Stutzman also thanked her "other" mom.

"Mom (Kathy Shelley) has spent the last few months helping put final details in place so that this Saturday we could honor my mom (Phyllis Shelley)," Stutzman wrote. "Mom (Kathy) has called countless times, fussed over and managed details for the dinner, and helped find pictures, awards, honorifics, etc. that Mom (Phyllis) received decades ago.

"We aren't all blessed with two moms - especially two moms who go above, beyond, and are as selfless as mine."

Stutzman remembers her mother, Phyllis Shelley, as "an open, happy, loving, caring person who did everything she could to make life a little brighter and better for her family, her neighbors, her church and complete strangers."

She added, "Thirty years later, working with memories of a little girl, I still remember so many details about her and love her fiercely."

In addition to remembering her as "my wife and the mother of my daughter," George Shelley wants the rest of us to remember "her smile, her laugh, her willingness to help, and her dedication to what is right."