Shellie N. Strain

Shellie was born in Idaho Falls Idaho on June 15, 1962 to Virginia and Arlo Nisson. She was the youngest of four children and grew up in Idaho Falls skiing, and ballet dancing for thirteen years. She had three sons by her first marriage, John, Jake, and Matt. She was preceded in death by her parents Virginia and Arlo, her brother Kim who was a policeman killed in the line of duty in Utah, and her oldest son John (Aiken). She is survived by her husband Chuck, sons Jake and Matt (Florida), sister Lori (Idaho) and brother Greg (Utah), a host of nieces and nephews, as well as the love of her life her grandson John (Florida).

Chuck and Shellie met by chance in 1996 in Denver Colorado when they were both on temporary assignment at the DOE Rocky Flats Facility. They were both from the same town but had never met until fate brought them together at the same hotel in Denver. They were married six months later and the adventure began. Shellie enjoyed life but also had a brilliant mind when it came to project scheduling software and relational databases. She was self-taught in both of these disciplines. Her computer skills and her outgoing personality led her to work for the Motorola corporation in the field of project management and they utilized her all over the world. She made frequent trips to London, Scotland, Ireland, Mexico, China, Hong Kong, and Malesia. She loved the excitement of the travel and seeing the wonders of the world but was always happy to get home to her family and dogs.

She left Motorola and worked a short time for General Electric and managed the cost and scheduling for two nuclear reactor outages in Laguna Verde Mexico. Shellie then spent time doing project management at the Savannah River Site but ultimately found her second home in Santa Fe New Mexico in support of a billion dollar project at the Los Alamos National Lab. While in Santa Fe, she and Chuck bought a second home and remodeled it to match her personality. She loved it when she and Chuck were there together and when her sons would visit. She left there and managed a project controls organization at the DOE Hanford Site and finally retired and come home to Aiken in 2011.

Shellie was very artistic and loved to paint and draw. While in Santa Fe she learned to fuse glass and make plates, ornaments, and pieces of abstract art. When she returned home to Aiken she and Chuck purchased three kilns and she began making and selling her works of art at the Aiken Center for the Arts.

Shellie was always happiest around her family and pets and when being creative with her art pieces. Her smile was contagious and she and Chuck shared a love of good wine and put a special wine room in their home. She and Chuck and her sons loved to take cruises and in fact she and Chuck had just returned from a cruise just days before her passing. Shellie was a very giving person and her final gift was to be an organ doner so that others may live. Her life was cut too short but her time on earth was packed full and she experienced more life in her 60 years that most people could only dream of. She will be sorely missed but her love remains and will continue to live on in those lucky individuals who receive her gifts through organ donation.

A private family memorial service will be held for Shellie in Florida at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be directed to the Aiken Center for the Arts (aikencenterforthearts.org) or to SPCA Albrecht Center (letlovelive.org).

SHELLHOUSE – RIVERS FUNERAL HOME, 715 EAST PINE LOG RD., AIKEN, SC