Obituary

Shelley was born on July 3^rd, 1968, to Joe and Frankie Parshall of Odessa, MO.  Growing up, she enjoyed big family gatherings playing games, especially cards.  She often boasted of having 100 cousins.  As a teen, Shelley worked checkout at the family-owned grocery store.  At 17, she was crowned Miss Odessa but was too young to enter the Miss Missouri competition.  She graduated from Odessa R-VII School District.  Shelley cherished her childhood girlfriends, and they remained close to this day.

Shelley graduated from William Jewell College with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education.  Her first year, she taught 2^nd grade at KC MO’s Phyllis Wheatly Elementary School.  She then taught elementary grades at Community Christian School in Lee’s Summit, MO, which later grew to become Summit Christian Academy.

Shelley married Wayne Holsten on October 19, 1991, and they lived in Lee’s Summit for 9 years.  Elizabeth was born in 1993, Anna in ‘94, Daniel in ‘98 and Rachel in ‘02.  Shelley homeschooled the kids for several years but, later, when the kids were all in the Lone Jack C-6 School District, she was the librarian and taught keyboarding there.

In two words, Shelley was a “planner” and a “doer”.  She enjoyed identifying and pursuing opportunities.  While living in Lee’s Summit, Shelley and Wayne attended Greenwood Baptist Church, where Shelley was active in nursery & children’s ministries and brought the AWANA program there.  The family moved to Lone Jack in 2000 and still live in the house built from architect plans Shelley created.  Shelley and Wayne joined the Lone Jack Baptist Church (LJBC) where She continued to be active in various ministries for the glory of God.  One year, she wrote and implemented an entire VBS curriculum.  She taught AWANA classes and created the Bible Buddies program for children during Sunday services.  She was a member of the pastor search committee and long-range planning committee.  Shelley also led the bringing of The Tabernacle Experience to LJBC that attracted nearly 5,000 visitors over 10 days.  She was even a prayer counselor for the alter call at the last Billy Graham crusade at Arrowhead stadium.  Her faith was of utmost importance to her, and that value was visible.

In the community, Shelley served on the Lone Jack C-6 school board for 6 years.  She chaired the Lone Jack Park Board that developed the Olde Town Hendrickson Park.  Then she led the Board to research and successfully propose the acquisition of the 30-acre JA Jackson park.  She was trained as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for children in the Jackson County foster program.  In 2015, she was honored to participate in the Missouri Learning Standards Work Groups in Jefferson City to review and recommend academic standards to MO’s Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).  Shelley was also a member of the Jackson County Republican Committee, the Lone Jack Historical Society, and taught youth swim lessons at Lake Paradise.

Shelley and Wayne enjoyed taking the family on annual vacations and fun outings, often to Branson, on float trips, and to the Colorado mountains. Other destinations were Yellowstone, San Antonio, Destin FL, Galveston TX, Costa Rica, Austria & Germany, and Puerta Villarta, Mexico.  The family also flew to New Delhi and Mumbai India to attend Anna and Nitin’s wedding and do a little site seeing.  In 2021, Shelley took Elizabeth, Anna, and Rachel on a girl’s trip to Italy and Greece.  In 2024, she and 6 of her daughters participated in the Colorado MudGirl Run in support of breast cancer organizations. In her spare time, Shelley enjoyed flowers, reading, watching HGTV, and the Hallmark Channel.

In 2017, Shelley and Wayne were certified as a foster home, and after fostering different children for a couple years, in October 2019, they adopted 5 wonderful siblings:  Trinity, Emma, Tashena, Georgia, and Charlie.

Shelley was a loving and devoted wife and mother for all her family.  She started several family traditions:  Friday family movie night, sleeping in the living room on Christmas Eve Eve, decorating gingerbread cookies, and painting wooden Easter eggs.  Being a mom and grandma were her greatest joys.

Shelley is survived by her husband, Wayne; parents Joe and Frankie Parshall of Odessa, MO; brother and sister-in-law Ryan Parshall and Patricia Olivares-Parshall of Rocky Mount, MO; Mother-In-Law Virgie Holsten of Stover, MO; and her 9 children and their families:  Elizabeth Holsten and granddaughter Meredith;  Anna (Holsten) and Nitin Kale and granddaughter Hadassah and grandson Jesse; Daniel and Abbigale Holsten, Rachel (Holsten) and Braydon Cromwell, Trinity White Calf-Bear, Emma Holsten, Tashena Holsten, Georgia Holsten, and Charlie Holsten.  Shelley was loved and will be sorely missed by a great many other relatives, friends, and acquaintances.

A memorial service will be held on Thursday, August 27 from 4:00 to 4:30 at Lone Jack Baptist Church in Lone Jack, MO.  A visitation and remembrance time will follow at the church from 5:00 to 7:00.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that memorial contributions be made payable to Lone Jack Baptist Church, where they will be used for Christian mission work.