Commander Robert E. 'Red' Sheldon
Commander Robert E. “Red” Sheldon, USN (Ret.), of Orlando, Fla., passed away peacefully on Dec. 26, 2014, with his family at his side in Pensacola, Fla.
“Red” Sheldon was born on Oct. 28, 1929, to the late George E. Sheldon and Edna Hauck Sheldon of Butler.
The oldest of three siblings, he graduated from Butler High School in 1947, enlisted in the Naval Reserve and attended the Bullis Preparatory School in Silver Spring, Md. He entered the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis in the summer of 1948, graduating in June 1952 with a commission as ensign, USN.
Ensign Sheldon was assigned to the recommissioning crew of the aircraft carrier USS Lake Champlain (CV-39) as the assistant gunnery officer preparing the ship for duty in the Korean War. In the spring of 1953, he received orders to flight training at Pensacola and married the former Mary Lou Bloom of Butler.
After earning his wings of gold in 1954, he served in a wide variety of aviation, staff and technical duty assignments, including anti-submarine patrol squadrons, aircraft carrier group staffs aboard USS Hornet (CVS-12) and USS Yorktown (CVS-10), the Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics and Bureau of Weapons, staff duty as EE curricular officer at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., and range operations officer at the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands, Kauai, Hawaii.
Following retirement from active duty as a commander in 1973, he worked for the Northrop Corp. as project officer for the MK 30 underwater target system at Naval Torpedo Station Keyport, Wash., and for the Dynelectron Corp. in Pueblo, Colo.
He retired to Orlando in 1989, where he met and married his second wife, Gayle Sons, and was active in the Naval Academy Alumni Association and Sertoma organizations.
He is survived by his wife of 21 years, Millie Gayle Sheldon of Orlando, Fla.; his sons, LCDR Robert K. Sheldon (Patty), USN (Ret.) of Pensacola, Fla., Kevin J. Sheldon (Carrie) of Acton, Calif., Rory M. Sheldon of Knoxville, Tenn., and Phillip Lance Sheldon (Veronica) of Colorado Springs, Colo., and his daughter, Lindy Y. Slaton of Broomfield, Colo. He leaves his younger brother, CAPT George E. Sheldon Jr., USN (Ret.), of Altamonte Springs, Fla.; his younger sister, Sandra J. Sheldon of Oviedo, Fla. He is also survived by his seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Sheldon— A memorial Mass for Commander Robert E. “Red” Sheldon, USN (Ret.), who passed away Friday, Dec. 26, 2014, will be at 10 a.m. Feb. 21 at the St. John Vianney Catholic Church in Orlando, Fla. Final interment at Arlington National Cemetery is pending.
