Jean Lawman Shellito

is honored with a Large Paver from John G. Shellito, Jack & Mimi Balazs Shellito, Judd & Sue Shellito, Paul & Barbara Shellito

Jean Lawman Shellito was born in Manchester, Iowa on April 30, 1920 to Dawn and Ernest Lawman. She earned an Associate Degree from Stephens College in Columbia, Mo. In 1939 and a BFA from the University of Iowa in 1941, where she joined Delta Gamma sorority. Jean also studied studio arts at the Art Institute of Chicago. Jean married Dr. John G. Shellito, from Independence, Iowa, on December 26, 1941. They were married for 68 years. For the first 3 years of their marriage during WWII, Jean worked as a draftsperson while John was in the Army Medical Corps in Europe. Jean and John moved to Wichita in 1949 where he had accepted a position as a general surgeon at the new Wichita Clinic. Jean continued to paint with watercolors and enjoyed the lively art scene in Wichita. She especially enjoyed painting outdoors in the Flint Hills. Jean was a founding member of Gallery XII, a women'€s artist cooperative, in 1977, from which she retired in 2008. In 2002, Jean and John moved to Larksfield Place, where Jean recognized and filled the need for an in-house art gallery, which became The Gallery at Larksfield Place. She curated and assisted in that role until 2010. Jean was a member of many arts groups both locally and regionally, including the Wichita Artists Guild, the Kansas Watercolor Society, and Wichita Women Artists. Jean was awarded the Kansas Watercolor Society Purchase Award in 1982 for her painting "Night Scenes.." She was a member of East Heights United Methodist Women and PEO. She was a beloved wife, mother and grandmother. Jean passed away peacefully at Larksfield Place on June 25, 2011, at age 91. She was preceded in death by parents Ernest and Dawn Lawman, and her husband Dr. John G. Shellito. She is survived by her three sons, Dr. Judd E. Shellito, wife Sue, New Orleans; Dr. Paul C. Shellito, wife Barbara, Boston; Dr. John L. (Jack), wife Mary (Mimi), Wichita; six grandchildren, Anne, John (wife Haley Bolin), Peter, Jena, Allison (husband Christopher Rinaldi), and Natalie, and great niece, Rosamond Edison. She brought beauty and grace to the world and her family. Her presence will be missed and remembered forever.