John Lewis Shell

John (“Buddy”) Lewis Shell was born on December 17, 1929, to Mary Lewis and Paul Shell in Marietta, Georgia. John was the 3rd of 5 children. Raised in Marietta and enjoying the freedoms the 30s and 40s brought, John graduated from Marietta High School in 1946, where he played basketball, was a cheerleader and voted “Friendliest” of his senior class. He worked at Holeproof Hosery before attending Tennessee Wesleyan Junior College in Athens, Tennessee where he met Ella Jo Stevens. They married in 1950 after graduation and John enlisted in the army. They were first stationed in Louisiana, and this is where John discovered his leadership skills and first began to teach Sunday school, something he continued to do well into his 80s. After his discharge from the army, he headed to Nashville, Tennessee, where he majored in Education at Peabody College.

After finishing school, John and Ella Jo headed back to Marietta. During these years, John was a Sunday school teacher and youth leader at Marietta First United Methodist Church, taking on a director role at the first Marietta FUMC Youth Camp (which still takes place each summer). He was also active in the Rotary Club during his working days in Marietta.

Although John was a wonderful storyteller and teacher, he decided teaching in the classroom was not for him, and so he chose to sell insurance for People’s and then Northwestern. In 1969, while working with one of his clients, he discovered the Hemlock Inn in Bryson City, North Carolina was for sale. A long-time dream was fulfilled by purchasing the Inn that became his happy place and his calling. John and Ella Jo had the gift of hospitality and loved serving their guests and community for over 20 years.

John and Ella Jo retired to Lake Junaluska, North Carolina to travel some and enjoy together time until Ella Jo passed away in 1998. John continued to be active at his church and with the Inn. After several years John reconnected with Roberta Lineburger, a fellow Innkeeper, and they married in December 2002. They were active at Long’s Chapel Methodist Church, teaching Sunday school, helping with the soup kitchen ministry, and starting Celebrate Recovery. When Roberta passed away in 2016, John moved back to the Inn where he lived peacefully for the remainder of his life. He loved the Inn where he could tell his stories, reminisce with the guests, and enjoy the wonderful home-cooked meals.

“Buddy” (as his friends called him) or “Papa” (as his grandchildren knew him) loved to dance the jitterbug, was a big fan of Gladys Knight and the Pips, and was known for his legendary wit and seemingly endless array of memorable sayings that he would pull out for any and every occasion. Most of all, he loved Jesus as a close friend and would read his Bible daily, often alongside a glass bottle Coca-Cola and pimento cheese sandwich.

John is survived by his 2 children: Dianne Shell Hylton and Elaine Shell (Morris) White; his 7 grandchildren: Jennifer (Doug) Roberts, Laurel (Matt) Henson, Chad (Maggie) Gilbert, Katie Pilson, Andrew (Jeanette) White, Steven (Sarah) White, and John Thomas (Alli) White; and his 20 great grandchildren: Avery, Jacob, and Tyler Austin, Joe and Susan Henson, John Douglas (JD) and George Roberts, Seamus and Declan Gilbert, Noah and Ella Jo Pilson, Addley Hylton, Madelyn, Anna Lewis, and Olivia White, Eleanor (Nora) and Clara White, and Hudson, Haddon and Helen White.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, March 23, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. at Long’s Chapel. A gathering will follow.

The care of Mr. Shell has been entrusted to Wells Funeral Home of Waynesville