Albert Shelander Obituary

Albert Shelander Jr.

Albert Fendig Shelander Jr. (BB), 68, a native of Brunswick, passed away at his home on St. Simons Island on Oct. 13, 2023, to be with the Lord. He is a graduate of Brunswick High School. He attended Valdosta State College and graduated from the University of Georgia's Terry School of Business, where he was a member of Kappa Alpha Order.

After graduation, Shelander worked for Warren Sewell Clothing Co. and TravelLoc. Shelander was a licensed insurance and real estate agent, working with a commercial real estate development company in Jacksonville. Shelander has been a wealth manager for the last 30 years as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER TM. After working in Brunswick for Merrill Lynch, he founded an independent wealth management office. He has been with Canopy Asset Management of St. Simons Island for nearly a decade.

He was preceded in death in 2008 by his loving wife, Betty Banks "Betsy" Harper Shelander, mother of their two children, Mary Anna Banks "Mary Banks" and McPherson Gwyn "Mac." Shelander was an affiliate member of St. Simons Presbyterian Church and a lifelong member of St. Mark's Episcopal Church. He was a member of the board of St. Mark's Towers for two decades and served as chair for 14 years. He was a board member of the Coastal Georgia Historical Society Endowment Fund, member of St. Simons Land Trust, member of Escorts Club, member of the Friends of the Lighthouse Museum, member of Glynn Visual Arts, and was a charter member of Sea Island Club.

In 2011, Shelander began creating a life with Melanie Kathryn Barger. They were drawn together by their shared deep faith and love of art. Together, they raised their four children, Mac and Mary Banks Shelander and Jon Phillip and Margaret Barger Spiers. Shelander's selflessness, persistent patience, kind devotion, and loving service brought healing and strength to their blended family.

Shelander had an unmatched ability to develop and to sustain deep friendships. His blend of compassion, humor, loyalty, and humility created intimacy across all ages and cultural lines. He allowed everyone to be fully themselves. BB was polite, insightful, generous, sensitive, strong, gracious, and he loved unconditionally.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Albert Fendig Shelander and Marjorie Davis Shelander; and wife Betsy Shelander. He is survived by Melanie Barger, Mac Shelander (fiancée Lucy Candler), Mary Banks Shelander, Jon Phillip Spiers, and Margaret Spiers. Also surviving are his stepmother, Joyce Nichols Davis Shelander; his sister, Anne Shelander Floyd (Randall); stepsister, Joan Miles; nephew, Edward Randall Floyd, M.D.; step-nephews, Flint Walker Huff (Val) and Jacob Winston Miles (Jessie Drawdy); and extended family and friends.

BB was traditional yet unconventional. BB was devoted to his weekly men's Bible Study, exercise, and continued learning. He loved history, science, health and fitness, the beach, the mountains, kayaking, and traveling. He expressed his creativity in his unique sense of humor. He had an ability to repair almost anything with nothing. Shelander was a naturally gifted artist and painter who saw color and life in all things. In addition to his many paintings, he shared his talent with stage set design for many a production at Frederica Academy and St. Simons Presbyterian Church.

Shelander had a strong sense of place. Little Cumberland Island played a large part of Shelander's life. He spent much of his childhood in recreation on Little Cumberland, his youth working construction on both Little Cumberland and Cumberland Islands, where he learned to improvise and make things work. In his young adult years, he sold many of the homes he helped to build on Little Cumberland Island. Anytime he had the chance to visit and be "mesmerized" by the beauty and pace of the remote barrier islands, he did. BB loved his ancestral homeplace on St. Simons Island's Florence Street in King City. Shelander was a wonderful host and enjoyed sharing the hospitality of his King City properties with the massive oaks, resurrection ferns, oceanfront breezes and views with friends, neighbors, and his AirBnB/VRBO guests.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023, at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 900 Gloucester St., in Brunswick.

A private burial service will be held.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in memory of Albert F Shelander, Jr. to: Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, by phone (904) 953-7200 for electronic checks or credit card, or by mail to Mayo Clinic Jacksonville Department of Development, 4500 San Pablo Road, Jacksonville, FL 32224; American Cancer Society website; Coastal Georgia Historical Society, P.O. Box 21136, St. Simons Island, GA 31522; St. Simons Land Trust, P.O. Box 24615, St. Simons Island, GA 31522; or St. Mark's Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 1155, Brunswick, GA 31521.

Family-placed obituary

The Brunswick News, October 18, 2023