Born in St. Joseph, 10-year-old Shelby Lynn Wilson grew up in Filmore, Mo. Listening to her mother and grandmother talk it’s clear that Shelby was a perpetual motion machine with lots of good contradictions. The girl with the ocean blue eyes was someone people couldn’t forget.

“I knew she was special the first time I ever saw her,” said Margaret Wilson, Shelby’s grandmother.

This summer Shelby went to summer school in Rosendale, Mo., and earned $100 for good grades. She used the money to buy herself a new bicycle.

Shelby was a tomboy who loved being outdoors, said Shelly Gatewood, her mother.

In March, she went on her first turkey hunt with Ed Loubey, a close family friend, and bagged a bird.

“To her it was the biggest turkey ever shot in the U.S.,” her mother said. “We never did weigh that bird. She didn’t want to eat it but Shelby saved the feet and a lot of the feathers.”

She loved animals and wanted to take care of them, said Cassie Wilson, Shelby’s aunt.

She was well on the way to becoming a competent homemaker, too. She loved to mix up cooking ingredients with her hands, Mrs. Wilson said.

She could make scrambled eggs, brownies and cookies, Mrs. Gatewood said.

And having an appetite wasn’t a problem. Shelby could eat a jar of pickles and then drink the juice, Mrs. Wilson said.

But Shelby had a problem with dirt.

“She couldn’t step out of the bathtub without getting dirty,” her mother said with a laugh as her voice cracked. Shelby was never afraid of anything.

“She was the opposite of me,” her mother said. “I’d have to call her to kill a spider.”

Shelby let her hair grow out so she could have it cut for the “Locks of Love” charity.

After summer school, the family moved back to St. Joseph. Monday, Shelby expected to take her brother Gummer Gatewood, 6, to Hosea School. He’d start in the first grade and she’d be a new fifth grader.

“Shelbs was looking forward to making new friends,” her mother said.

That changed on Aug. 15. The family was headed for Nodaway, Mo., and a river float trip. Shelby rode with a family friend. At a rail crossing, the car collided with a train and Shelby’s life ended. Now the family is left with pictures and memories.

A new youth activity building will be called Shelby’s Center at Harvest Baptist in Savannah, Mo., Mrs. Wilson said.

Marshall White can be reached at

marshall@npgco.com.