When I married Les some nearly seventeen years ago, one of the early adaptations was in deciding what to call my father-in-law. While I have come to occasionally call him Les, it seemed disrespectful at that early juncture to do so. However, calling him "Doctor" Shelton made me feel like I was at work-certainly not the right feel. He told me on several occasions I was welcome to call him Dad but I respectfully replied that I could not do that as I had only one Daddy. After a couple years, I believe it was a Father's Day that I wrote Dr. Dad on his card. While somewhat nauseatingly cute, it bridged the two worlds.

Over these 17 years I have worked in the same hospital at which Dr. Shelton practiced Pediatric Cardiology. Many have noted my name on my nametag and asked, "Shelton...Do you know Dr. Shelton." To my reply that he was my father-in-law, there was always a smile and a nod, frequently followed by a respectful comment or a humorous anecdote. Never the flat shifty eyed response of, "Oh....." I always knew he meant a lot to people.

Tonight we went to his retirement dinner. After 24 years with USC, he is calling it quits to care for his wife and enjoy his Grands. Tonight, in amid all the humor, we learned that this sweet man who regularly falls asleep just after dinner and rants with ease at just about any statement on the TV has been a great physician.

Les graduated from Milsaps College in Jackson, MS and went on to the Medical School there in Jackson. While in Med School, he married Dwight who gave birth in rapid succession to Leslie, III and Robert. After graduation, Les took the family to San Francisco to do his residency in the Air Force requiring him to commit to five years of service. While in San Fran, they welcomed their daughter Elizabeth.

After a stint in New York, they spent most of the time in Lakenheath, Suffolk, England. At the end of that commitment, he began a Cardiology Fellowship at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. Now a recognized authority in Pediatrics. He finished his fellowship at MCV in Richmond before coming to General Peds practice here in Columbia in 1975. Yep all of this before I even graduated High School.

Back then USC had no Med School so he was in general practice for three years. Then when the Med School was born he came to the Pediatric Department and founded the Cardiology Division. That means ever Pediatrician trained in Columbia was mentored by Dr. Dad. When our hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care was born, he was the only Cardiologist in town trained to read echocardiograms (such as they were) on such little fragile beings. Again, so many lives. For 16 years he was Columbia's sole Pediatric Cardiologist.

Soon after, in 1984, Les and I began dating and I can remember many a family event he had to leave to go to the NICU. The same NICU that cared for Katie when she came prematurely in 1987.

We had the common bond of medicine and nursing with the addition of loving Cardiology.

Tonight, they showed slides (some quaintly outdated) of his life and spoke of what it meant to be Dr. Leslie Shelton. The impact of this man on Pediatric care in the Midlands of SC. They teased about what he would do with his time and between the laughter we were misty eyed with pride and love. He sat in the quiet repose of the Southern gentleman beside the woman he married over forty years ago surrounded by his children, their spouses and his sister.

He rose in the end to speak of his life and how when he married his wife, "he did a really good thing." He spoke of how his children had been 99% perfect and how they had married well. When he picked up the program and pointed to a family picture from last summer and introduced his Grandchildren, his friends, colleagues and family could see the pride in his face.

These are the future of the Sheltons, the next generation. Katie who will be a famous artist. Christie, a vegatarian lawyer to be. Robbie, a future World Cup Soccer player. Haley our future Olympic Gymnast. John Michael who will one day graduate from West Point and (the two preschoolers) Emory and Matthew, the at present "undeclared majors."

So, a career of 40 years and 24 years devoted to developing the next generations. His children and their spouses were left with a sense of wonder at how significant is this man who they always knew in that sweet familiar way. I asked if this meant I should quite calling him Dr. Dad....he hopes not.

And yes, he loved the platter.