Mya Calista Shelton

Mya passed in great comfort unexpectedly at her home in the late evening hours of January 24th 2014. She was born in Walla Walla, Wa. on January 7th, 1941. As a child she grew up in the Seahurst/Burien area of Seattle. Before graduating from Highline High school in 1959, she attended Morgan City High School in Louisiana and Milwaukee Downer Seminary Girls School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Mya attended Stephen’s College in Columbia, Missouri, graduating with a dual degree in economics and fashion merchandising. After working for Wolff Brothers in Kansas City and Joseph Magnin in Los Angeles as a fashion model and buyer, Mya returned to Seattle to fulfill her dream of travel and flying. She worked first for Pacific Northern Airlines flying on her favorite Constellation aircrafts (‘her Connies’), which she loved so much. As she advanced in her career, she would occasionally take her nephew, Joel, on airplane trips from Seattle to Alaska and back while she was working so the two of them could have lunch in Juneau or Ketchikan, and be home by his bedtime. PNA became Western Airlines and is now Delta Airlines. Mya’s passion was air safety. She worked tirelessly for the airline industry and National Transportation Safety Board as a west coast crash investigator. As Chair of the Aircraft Technical Committee for the Association of Flight Attendants she tested the implementation of new safety equipment with Boeing, Lockheed and McDonnell-Douglas on new aircraft.

Mya had a varied work life after leaving the airline industry. She worked at K2 on Vashon Island for two years in the accounting department and worked was a server at Sound Foods. She was also very happy to be able to help out wherever she could at Rock Island Pub and Pizza when Chuck and Carol were out of town.

In her last years, Mya’s health was greatly compromised. She fought very hard for her life more than once in the last 6 years. She was small, but mighty in her determination, and lived her life with an iron will. Mya will be remembered as bright, funny, possessed of a razor sharp wit, and as a perpetual scholar. Her love of learning, however, was only eclipsed by the love she had for those she surrounded herself with, including many caring Island friends. Although her family was small she loved them with her whole heart. She is survived by her sister Sally (Shelton) Carlson, her nephew Joel Carlson, his wife Brenna, her friend and brother-in-law Gary Carlson, and her beloved cat Teekah.

A service honoring her life will be held at Island Funeral Service at 11AM on Saturday, February 22nd.

Please visit our online guest book at www.islandfuneral.com.

Paid Obituary.