Robert “Bob” Shelton, B.B.A. ’55

Robert “Bob” Shelton, B.B.A. ’55, was born July 2, 1933, to Perry Wayne and Mary Morrow Shelton in Waco. He grew up attending La Vega ISD schools where his father was the superintendent. Robert was a gifted four-sport athlete, and in 1950 he graduated from high school at the young age of 16. At Baylor, he played basketball his freshman year, was a member of the Tryon Coterie fraternity serving as their president his senior year, was a member of the Air Force ROTC and graduated in 1955 with a B.B.A. in accounting.

Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, flying the F-86 Sabre fighter jet. While stationed at Laredo Air Force Base, TX, he met the love of his life, Dixie. After a whirlwind courtship, including a proposal over the telephone and the delivery of her engagement ring via the U.S. Mail, they were married April 20, 1957, in Princeton, WV.

In February 1958, upon his honorable discharge as a 1st Lieutenant from the 93rd Fighter-Interceptor Squadron of Kirkland Air Force Base, NM, he began his professional career as a salesman at Marchant Calculators and later moved to Texaco, Inc. He was a pioneer in data processing. With his leadership, Texaco’s financial reporting system was implemented, helping Texaco take and maintain a leadership position on Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), while laying the groundwork for the BPQI initiative. 

Shelton was a deeply devoted Christian and member of Second Baptist Church in Houston. His faith in Christ guided him daily and he served as a deacon in several of the previous churches where he was a member.

Shelton was a season ticket holder for his Baylor Bears including the men’s and women’s basketball teams and football teams. In 2005, the Baylor Alumni Association honored the Perry and Mary Shelton Family with its First Families of Baylor Award, having had four generations of Baylor graduates.

Giving back to the community was deeply important to Shelton. He supported the Boys and Girls Country of Houston, Star of Hope of Houston, the Salvation Army and most importantly Mission: Dignity, an organization providing financial assistance to retirement-age Southern Baptist ministers, workers and their widows. He and Dixie also set up the Robert S. and Dixie A. Endowed Scholarship Fund in Accounting at Baylor University as well as the Dixie and Robert Shelton endowed scholarship for the Sigma Sigma Sigma Foundation.