PORTSMOUTH—Shelby Dwight West, 85, passed away in Sentara Norfolk General Hospital on June 24, 2024. Prior to that, he lived very independently in his home, which he designed and built himself. He was the only son of the late William F. "Buck" West and Dora M. "Dodie" West.

Shelby was a native and lifelong resident of Portsmouth. He was a graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School, where he played football for four years and was a member of the track team. Shelby was a proud member of the 1954 Woodrow Wilson High School State Championship football team. Their photograph is hung in honor in various establishments in Portsmouth, including Roger Browns and Dennis's Steak House. In later years he was a member of the Woodrow Wilson Grid Iron Club.

Shelby attended both ECU (East Carolina University) and Western Kentucky University; he was a member of the football team at both.

As a teen and young man, he worked at his father's partnership business, Ellis and West Coal and Oil Company, and for close family friend James H. Epperson, at one of his general contracting businesses. His career was with the City of Portsmouth in the position of Zoning Officer; he retired in 1997, after over 30 years of service.

Shelby worked hard and played hard. He had varied interests and hobbies in his lifetime. He raced MG sports cars; rode motorcycles; golfed; fished; gardened; hunted birds with his beloved English Setter Dancer and great friend Dewey; fished; swam; played handball; built wooden boats, as well as other woodworking hobbies; and enjoyed photography, including constructing wooden frames and matting his own photos.

But his true love was sailing. Shelby was a skilled and avid sailor. He would rather be chasin' the wind than anything else on the land. (Lyrics from a Michael McCloud original song, one of his favorite musicians who performed at one of the places he loved most, Schooner Wharf in Key West, FL.)

In his younger days most of his sailing was on the Chesapeake Bay, around and off of Stingray Point in a small day sailer.

In 1991, he purchased his dream boat: a Catalina 30, which he sailed from Reedville back to Portsmouth and docked at Scotts Creek Marina. He was a member of the Armadillo Boat Club, based on B dock of Scotts Creek Marina from 1992-1997.

In later years, Shelby still spent a great deal of time "watching the bay go by" in his chair or hammock on the porch of his cottage in Deltaville, VA, and enjoying his family, "the old regime" created over many years and friends "on the point."

In addition to his parents, Shelby was predeceased by his former wife, the mother of his daughter and good friend, Marilyn West Rowland. He is survived by his only child, his daughter, the light of his life, Michelle; his cousin James T. Boswell, Jr. and his wife Kendra and daughter McKenna; his Armadillo Boat Club family members John and Chrys; his Stingray Point "old regime" family members and friends; his close friend and high school football team mate Jimmy Williams and members of the Grid Iron Club; very close friends James W. "Jim" Backus  and Lee Morris; close friend/adopted family member Wil Styron; and all of "his girls"/adopted daughters.

A graveside service will be held 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, July 24, at Olive Branch Cemetery, 2 Cpl. J. M. Williams Ave., Portsmouth. Lunch at Dennis's Steak House with the Grid Iron Club and all who wish to attend will follow. A casual-dress Celebration of Life will be held in Deltaville, VA at 3:00 p.m. Saturday,  August 3, at the Deltaville Community Center. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society , or a charity of your choice. Condolences may be registered at BWFosterFuneralHome.com.