PRINTER'S NO. 3260
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
472
Session of
2024
INTRODUCED BY LEADBETER, JUNE 6, 2024
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
JUNE 6, 2024
A RESOLUTION
Extending sincere condolences on the death of the Honorable Kent
D. Shelhamer, Sr., a former member from North Centre
Township, Columbia County.
WHEREAS, The House of Representatives commends the faithful
service of Mr. Shelhamer, who died May 31, 2024, at 99 years of
age; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Shelhamer's legislative record, including
restoring funding for agricultural research, reflected the
important relationships he built as a rural lawmaker and fruit
grower at Shelhamer Farms, North Centre Township, which he
purchased from his father in 1948; and
WHEREAS, First elected to the House of Representatives, 109th
District, in an upset victory in 1964, Mr. Shelhamer represented
Columbia and Montour Counties from 1965 through 1976; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Shelhamer then served in Governor Milton Shapp's
cabinet as Secretary of Agriculture, notably conducting whole-
agency meetings and addressing Johnstown flood relief and Farm
Show Complex and Pennsylvania Veterinary Laboratory renovations;
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
and
WHEREAS, Mr. Shelhamer contributed his energies and expertise
to the Columbia County Extension Service, the Columbia County
Farmers Association and, as Superintendent of Agriculture, the
Bloomsburg Fair; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Shelhamer further contributed to his community
through his local congregations, Ebenezer United Methodist
Church, North Centre Township, and Shiloh Bible Church, Almedia,
and as a life member of the Orangeville Fire Company and
founding member of the Orangeville Sportsmen's Club; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Shelhamer's exemplary record of service includes
his work as a sergeant in the United States Army Corps of
Engineers, European Theater of Operations, near the end of World
War II; and
WHEREAS, Born in the Borough of Orangeville, Columbia County,
on November 30, 1924, Mr. Shelhamer was a son of the late Lester
S. and Bertha Howell Shelhamer and an Orangeville High School
graduate; and
WHEREAS, Mary J. Holmes Shelhamer, Mr. Shelhamer's wife of 73
years, died in 2022 at 100 years of age; and
WHEREAS, Their children, Kent D. Shelhamer, Jr., Rebecca J.
Knorr and Cindy E. Sides, grandchildren and great-grandchildren
survive Mr. Shelhamer; and
WHEREAS, Their children, Steven L. Shelhamer and Carol L.
Wall, and three sisters preceded him in death; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Shelhamer is being interred at Ebenezer Cemetery
in North Centre Township with full military honors; therefore be
it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives extend sincere
condolences on the death of the Honorable Kent D. Shelhamer,
20240HR0472PN3260 - 2 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Sr., a former member from North Centre Township, Columbia
County; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be transmitted to
Mr. Shelhamer's family.
20240HR0472PN3260 - 3 -
1
2
3
4