Thomas Christopher Shelfer

Brookhaven, Mississippi, to Dorothy and Thomas Shelfer. Chris spent part of his

childhood in Shreveport, Louisiana, where he enjoyed baseball, fishing, and

cherished hunting trips with his grandfather. His family was relocated to Houston

with Exxon oil in 1961 where Chris attended Spring Branch Junior High and

High Schools. During his high school career, Chris was active in the rifle club,

the tennis team, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and spent weekends

surfing in Galveston. Upon his graduation in 1967, Chris decided to attend Texas

Christian University in Ft. Worth. Chris thrived during his time at TCU where he

was a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity, business school organizations

through the marketing and management major, and met the love of his life, Carol

Brunson. Chris and Carol graduated from TCU in May of 1971 and were married

on August 14 of that year. Chris earned his MBA from TCU in 1973 and went on

to work for the Coca Cola Company. His job took the couple to Oklahoma City,

Atlanta, Corpus Christi, and San Antonio. Chris and Carol’s daughter, Kimberly,

was born in Atlanta in 1975, and Kari in San Antonio in 1979. The couple

enjoyed a thriving community in San Antonio through neighborhood friends and

San Pedro Presbyterian Church, where Chris and Carol were members until

December of 2024. Chris enjoyed other sales and marketing careers with Pearl

Beer Company, Harte Hanks Cable Corporation, and his private consulting and

leadership management firm. Chris and Carol moved to Dallas to be closer to

family nine months ago due to worsening Parkinson’s disease symptoms.

Chris will forever be remembered as a great outdoorsman who loved deer

and dove hunting and fishing with his brother, nephews, and friends. He enjoyed

gourmet cooking and grilling for the family. Chris was known as an avid fan of

the TCU Horned Frogs and the Churchill Chargers, as he cheered his daughters

on during their high school dance team days. Most of all Chris treasured his role

as “Poppy” to his five grandchildren and always looked forward to visiting them

in Dallas and Midland.

Chris went home to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on October

1, 2025. Chris is survived by his beloved wife, Carol, of 54 years; daughters

Kimberly Shelfer Christopher (Shane) of Midland and Kari Shelfer Galanos (Mark)

of Dallas. Chris considered Shane and Mark his sons and was always grateful

for their addition to the family. Poppy will be missed dearly by his grandchildren

Daniel (20), Caroline (18), and Andrew (13) Christopher and Rylie (19) and

Brandon (16) Galanos. Chris is also survived by his brother David Shelfer and

wife Lisa and nephews Mark and Brian Shelfer of Houston.

Chris’ family would like to thank the servant-hearted, exceptional staff at

Arden Courts of Richardson and Pathway Hospice. The Resurrection of Life

service in honor of Chris will be Friday, November 7, 2025, 10am at Highland

Park Presbyterian Church. In lieu of flowers the family invites you to donate to

Arden Courts of Richardson (arden-courts.com) or The Michael J. Fox

Foundation for Parkinson’s (michaeljfox.org).