Lufkin Doctor Named to Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame

Media Contact: Mona Farmer, (903) 670-2228, icle__media__contact">Media Contact: Mona Farmer, (903) 670-2228, mona.farmer@tpwd.texas.gov

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ATHENS, Texas—The late William B. (“Doc”) Shelton of Lufkin has been elected to the Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame.

Nominated in the angler category, Dr. Shelton was recognized for his efforts to promote fishing and to protect the environment. He was also cited for his work in getting young people involved in fishing.

Shelton participated in the oldest bass fishing tournament in the United States, the Texas State Bass Tournament, for 41 consecutive years. As a member of that organization’s steering committee, he helped revitalize the tournament in the late 1990s. In 2000 he was selected as a State Tournament Legend and made a member of the Texas State Bass Tournament Hall of Fame.

With his wife, Emily, Shelton was a founder of the His and Hers Couples Bass Club of Lufkin. He was also a member of the Saturday Anglers Bass Club and the Lufkin Bass Club. He received the Texas Association of Bass Clubs highest honor, the Mac Payne Memorial Award, for his contributions to the sport of bass fishing.

As president of the Friends of Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Shelton led an effort to raise public awareness of the importance of maintaining water quality in the reservoir. He also worked to have public recreational facilities around the lake improved.

One of Shelton’s favorite projects was the Bass Brigade, a youth leadership program of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Texas Wildlife Association that teaches high school students about aquatic ecosystems and natural resource management. He attended the brigade’s summer camp each year, serving as a mentor and camp coordinator.

Dr. Shelton’s professional life was equally busy and outstanding. He served as a radiologist/radiation oncologist at the Memorial Health System of East Texas in Lufkin for 22 years. He held positions such as president of the Angelina County Medical Society, district director of the American Cancer Society and associate director of Hospice in the Pines in Lufkin. He was instrumental in creating the Arthur Temple, Sr., Regional Cancer Center in Lufkin, where he served as medical director from 1989 until his retirement. In 1994 he blended his interests in fishing and medicine and created his Totally Awesome Fishing Adventure, a bass tournament that raises money to benefit cancer patients.

His close friend and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department commissioner John D. Parker of Lufkin said in his letter in support of Shelton’s nomination, “Our mutual passion was wildlife conservation. Dr. Shelton was an involved co-worker with me in every conservation effort in Deep East Texas, including Ducks Unlimited, Quail Unlimited, Friends of Quail, Bobwhite Brigade, Cherokee Wildlife Association, and Angelina Wildlife Association.”

Dr. Shelton passed away in 2006. He will be posthumously inducted into the Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame at a banquet at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens on June 2, 2007. The Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame honors legendary anglers, fisheries professionals and organizations that have made a contribution to freshwater fishing in Texas.