Patrick LeRoy Shelby

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 am on Thursday, August 21, 2008 at Asbury United Methodist Church for Patrick LeRoy Shelby, 74, who passed away on Monday, August 18, 2008 at Lafayette General Medical Center from congestive heart failure. Reverend Ed Boyd, Pastor of Asbury United Methodist Church, will conduct the funeral service. Special music will be provided by some of Mr. Shelby's former students accompanied by his long time friend and colleague, Geraldine Hubbell. Another friend and colleague from the School of Music, John Turner, will deliver the eulogy. Interment will be held at Grandview Cemetery in Albany, Missouri. Mr. Shelby was a retired voice professor from the Univeristy of Louisiana at Lafayette School of Music. He was born on July 30, 1934 in Albany, Missouri where he was raised. He graduated from Albany High School in 1952. He was a proud member of the Boy Scouts of America and achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. He served his country in the United States Army as a member of the US Army Chorus. He received a music education degree from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa; then moved to Passaic, New Jersey where he taught in the public schools while pursuing his operatic training with Andrew White and Armen Boyajian in New York City. He moved to Lafayette in 1970 and commenced to build his vocal music studio at USL. He was instrumental in bringing Boris Goldovsky to Lafayette for several seasons to work with opera students from thoughout the state. He was the artist-baritone in residence at the university and sang the baritone leads in USL Opera productions of Rigoletto, Tosca, Il Tabarro, Cosi fan Tutte, Marriage of Figaro, Un Ballo in Maschera, Romeo and Juliette, La Traviata, South Pacific, Fiddler on the Roof, and The Most Happy Fella, in addition to several solo recitals during his tenure. He retired from the university in 1991 whereupon he and his wife Claire started Shelby's Antiques. He served as Director of Music at Asbury United Methodist Church from 1970 until 1980 and during that time, he led the city wide production of Handel's Messiah, sponsored by the Lafayette Ministerial Association. He was a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity for men, and an honorary member of Sigma Alpha Iota international music fraternity as a Friend of the Arts. He was especially noted for his innovative weekly voice classes where he shared his expertise in vocal performance with his students, requiring them to perform for each other, offering critiques of those performances. He was often assisted by his wife, Claire, in sessions on poise and presentation. His students won numerous awards at NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) conventions through the years, and many have continued to pursue professional careers in performance and teaching. He is survived by one daughter, Sara Shelby-Martin and her husband, Tony Martin of Dallas, TX; his brother and sister-in-law, Nicholas and Barbara Shelby of Bethany, Missouri; his sister-in-law, Mina Zenor Garman and her husband, Neil of Las Vegas, Nevada; and many nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews. His wife, Claire Zenor Shelby preceed him in death by three months. The family requests that visiting hours be observed on Wednesday from 5:00 pm until 8:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to the ULL Foundation for the Sigma Alpha Iota Scholarship, P.O. Box 44872, Lafayette, Louisiana 70504, to the Boy Scouts of America, Evangeline Area Council, 2266 South College Road Extension, Suite E, Lafayette, Louisiana 70598 or to the local chapter of SPCA. Personal condolences may be sent to the Shelby family at www.delhommefuneralhome.com. Delhomme Funeral Home, 1011 Bertrand Drive, Lafayette, is in charge of the funeral arrangements.

Patrick LeRoy Shelby

July 30, 1934 - August 18, 2008