Historical Lehi
Shelleys to be honored for work with historical society, military service
Lara Bangerter | Lehi Free Press
Bruce Glen Shelley and Judy Ann Hansen Shelley were both born in the Lehi Hospital. Bruce is the son of Glen and Mildred Carlson Shelley. Judy is the daughter of John and Marjorie Gaisford Hansen.
Bruce grew up in Lehi and would have graduated from Lehi High School in 1971, but instead, his dad, a WWI veteran, told him to join the army so he would not be drafted.
Bruce was sent to Fort Shafter Hawaii for special data analyst training program. He served in Long Bien, Vietnam, from November 1970 to September 1971. He worked transposing military data to a secret code to keep it from falling into the hands of the enemy. After Vietnam, he continued in Nürnberg, Germany, and was eventually discharged in December 1972. After returning home, Bruce worked in construction and became a welder. In 2000, he started a career as a mail carrier until he retired in 2015.
Judy went to schools in Lehi. At 16, the Lehi High School counselor told her dad to send her to college. She had to take an entry exam to get in. After passing, she started at Utah Technical College at Provo.
Judy married and divorced. She raised her four children, Lalaina, Damon, Douglas and George, as a single mother. Knowing that she was the sole supporter of her family, she went back to the University of Utah. She finished her Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology while her family was young.
Judy volunteered as a docent at the Utah State Capitol. After finding out that people across the United States tour every state capitol, she now has a bucket list to tour every capitol.
Judy spent her life working in various human service fields. For many years, she held a Social Service Worker license to work in the fields of substance abuse, child abuse, welfare fraud, corrections and with people with disabilities. She spent most of her career as a case manager for those with intellectual disabilities and brain injuries.
She is a certified Support Coordinator for the State of Utah. After her son Douglas was hit by a car and sustained a traumatic brain injury, she volunteered as a committee member of the Acquired Brain Injury Work Group to amend eligibility criteria in state law for the Medicaid Brain Injury Waiver Program in Utah.
After retiring from state employment, she opened her own business, Custom Care Support Coordination, where she continues to help the disabled community.
Judy is a military biographer. She has interviewed and written 64 military biographies. She has written and published family history books. She is a member of the National Society of the United States Daughters of 1812, Utah Chapter. She is a Danish genealogist and has served in the Mount Timpanogos Temple since April 2016. She has been a merit badge counselor with the BSA and volunteered with Tough Love for Troubled Teens.
At BYU Education Week, she hosted education classrooms for the instructors. She served on the Lehi Library Board. Along with Rhea Lewis, Lynette Harris and John Haws Jr., Judy is one of the four original founding members of the Lehi Historical Society. She volunteers on its executive committee as president and oversees honorees for Lehi Heritage Day.
Judy has spent many hours volunteering and presenting to youth groups during Armor of God firesides with the Temple Riders.
Bruce and Judy have known each other since 1966. After Bruce returned from Vietnam, they dated and were “exclusive” for more than two years before they separated to pursue individual adventures.
In January 2021, they reconnected and were married on July 5, 2021. Both continue to serve in the community and adventure off to visit more state capitols.
