John Carlyle Shelton passed away unexpectedly on October 3, 2020 after suffering a suspected heart attack while doing what he loved most, riding his bike. John was born on May 3, 1968 in North Carolina to R. Page Shelton and Mary “Jeanne” Middleton. Though the birth and death of this wonderful man is important, it certainly is not as relevant as the life that he lived to the fullest between those two dates. John’s parents knew they had the perfect child, which is why they only had one. He grew up in North Carolina and Georgia where he graduated from Snellville high school. The combination of smarts and soccer led him to The University of Georgia as a Foundation Fellow, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in political science in 1990. By 1993, he had earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Diego School of Law. He began working as an Attorney in Atlanta, Georgia, eventually forming their own law firm, Shelton Collins & Gordon, LLC. After being a lawyer for some time, he realized doing this for the rest of his life, was not the life he wanted to live. In his words, being a lawyer was a “miserable way to make a living”. John knew and showed kindness to everyone around him; he also knew that being miserable would not be good for him or those in his life. Said best by John, “You argue with people, talk on the phone all day and still, at the end of the day no one is never all the way happy”. That can help you understand how important it was for John to be happy, for himself and for others. During this time while having doubts of his career as a lawyer he met the love of his life Julia Bradnan in 1995 through a mutual friend. It was love at first sight and after a few years of dating, the couple got married on December 19, 1998 in Decatur, Georgia in a do-it-yourself style ceremony completed by their dogs being in the wedding party and a bourbon fountain. Their life was everything but boring from that point on. They eventually had two children, Finnegan, now 18 years old and Jude, now 16 years old. Having their two children was easily the best thing to happen to them but just as any parent knows, it is no walk in the park. They both knew that his hours as a lawyer and her hours working to become a surgeon which was nearly 100 hours a week would not allow them to be the loving and involved parents they wanted to be. After he left his job as a lawyer in 2009, he began teaching middle school while in Nashville. He enjoyed teaching, had fun, and more importantly, he was able to spend quality time with his children. After three years of teaching middle school and anticipating another move soon to allow Julia to complete her surgical training, John shepherded Finn and Jude around the country on an Airstream road-schooling adventure, eventually landing in Louisville, Kentucky where Julia completed her pediatric surgery fellowship. Becoming a stay at home dad by 2012 was by far the best career he had found, and if you ask his children, he was “stupendous” at it. His sense of humor, goofy personality, and devotion to his children and wife meant more than what anyone thought of him being a stay-at-home dad. This made him happy and was what he lived for. John and his family eventually settled in Iowa City after Julia started her career as a pediatric surgeon. John was proud to be a part of the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital Bike Family including during 2018 when the team won the RAGBRAI Rider Cup award for representing the children’s hospital bike safety program. In 2018, the family moved to North English into a beautiful home in the country with ~37 acres of land, where he became a hobby farmer. Except during the polar vortex, John loved living at their new home and always had things to do that kept him busy. They named the farm Rule Number One Farm, which if you knew John, it was not hard to guess what that rule was: “Don’t be a Jerk”. After becoming a farmer, he also became a member of Practical Farmers of Iowa and Icelandic Sheep Breeders of North America and was raising four Icelandic Sheep of his own, Thordis, Braggy, Burton Guster, and Ani. All animals approved of him without reservation but especially his pets at home, three dogs, Bob, Clover, and Frances, four cats, Abel, Baker, Charlie, and Luis, a gaggle of hens led by Jeff “the Dude” Rooster, three turkeys, 25 guinea hens, and 2 ducks. John lived for himself and those he loved, always doing what was best for his family. He made sure that he raised his children to be nothing but kind and accepting, just as he was. Aside from being a devoted son, husband, father, and friend to everyone, he was also passionate about voting and encouraged others to vote. And although it would come as a surprise to no one that John was progressive, he would staunchly defend your right to vote for whomever. In memory of John and what was important to him, his family asks everyone to please vote in the upcoming election. A man amongst men, John made you see the good in the world just by being exposed to his goofy, kind, and outgoing personality. He loved to get involved, especially if it meant meeting new friends. John’s wildly entertaining stories that he told so well would grab your attention regardless if it pertained to you or someone else. He absolutely loved riding his bike with friends and his wife. John completed the RAGBRAI route for the past 4 years after what feels like forever of riding his bike for fun which continued to do up until his death. Throughout his life, he has had different hobbies and interests in addition to biking such as carpentry, bike mechanics, bowling, watching soccer, traveling, baking bread, camping, and any hobby that his kids took on. The great outdoors was his heaven on earth, and he enjoyed doing most things that involved being outdoors. John truly was a rare combination of someone who had an exuberance for life and an understanding of what was important - the simplicity of living a life with those you love. He will be remembered for so many things but most importantly, for the good he brought to the world. He is survived by his wife Julia Shelton of North English, IA; two children, Finnegan Andrew Walker Shelton and Jude Morgan Carlyle Shelton, both of North English, IA; his mother Jeanne Shelton of North English, IA; his father and step-mother R. Page Shelton and Jann Briscoe of St. Simons Island, GA; mother-in-law Paula Bradnan of Iowa City, IA; parents-in-law William and Rosemary Bradnan of Hilton Head Island, SC, and his brother-in-law Andrew (Jackie) Bradnan of Monroe, WA, and an abundance of friends. He was preceded in death by his great-grandmother Emmaline Shelton. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the John Shelton Memorial Fund to be distributed to organizations that he supported and were important to him including the Iowa City Bike Library, Love at First Sight Pet Adoption Center, The University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital RAGBRAI team, the American Civil Liberty Union, National Public Radio, and CommUnity Crisis Services and Food Bank. A celebration of life will be held virtually on Saturday October, 10, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. Please share your photos, stories of John or send online condolences to his family at https://rulenumberone.farm/, where you may also find the link to watch the service.