Obituary of William Mack Shelby

William "Mack" Shelby, "Pops" an Air Force veteran and resident of Olivehurst, California, passed away on June 8th, 2021 at Adventist Health and Rideout Hospital at the age of 86. Mack was born on January 18, 1935, in Pensacola, Florida. At age 20, Mack joined the Air Force, specializing as an Avionics Instrument Systems Technician. He served 21 years from 1955-1976, he traveled all over the world and even served in Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam. He returned to Beale Air Force Base to work on the SR71 Blackbird. Mack has a lifelong love for flight and many stories to share, including the flight in '74 when his engine tuning helped the SR71 set the world flight speed record from New York to London. After 21 years of service, Mack retired and established Shelby Trucking Company which he ran, with his son Phillip, until he retired in 1999. While he no longer worked on the fastest plane in the world, his love for flight didn't end when he retired from the military. Soon after, he earned his private pilot's license and went on to own and fly numerous different planes over the next 30 years. His grandchildren in Idaho recall fond memories of Mack picking them up in his planes and flying them out to California. In 1956, he met his wife Priscilla and 6 months later, they were married. They went on to have two children, Christine and Phillip. They built a beautiful home together in Yuba City. Mack and Priscilla loved to travel, with Hawaii and Las Vegas being among their favorite destinations. They spent many weekends at the racetrack, where they enjoyed watching their son and grandchildren, Phillip and Lisa, race stock cars. In more recent times Mack spent his free time as a professional slot machine player at Colusa Casino. Mack is survived by his children, Christine Wickmark (Dave), and Phillip Shelby (Tammy); 4 grandchildren, Phillip Shelby (Veronica), Shelby Massey (Dustin), Lisa Shelby and Davi Pachner (Blake); 4 great-grandchildren, Austin Shelby, Makinze Massey, Katelynn Massey, and Sienna Shelby. Mack is preceded in death by his wife Priscilla Shelby; and his brother, Phillip Shelby. There will be a small graveside service held on Wednesday, June 16, 2021, 10AM at Sierra View Memorial Park.