Sara Susan Rainey Shelby passed away peacefully, surrounded by her loving family on April 18, 2026. Family will receive friends on Thursday, April 23, 2026 from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. and a Rosary from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. at Osborn Funeral Home, 3631 Southern Ave Shreveport, LA 71104. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held 1:00 p.m. on Friday, April 24, 2026 at The Cathedral of St. John Berchmans Catholic Church. Burial will follow at Forest Park Cemetery, St. Vincent Ave. Officiating will be Reverend Raney Johnson.
“Mimi” as she was lovingly called by her family, was born in Cotulla, Texas to Clarence Lyndon Rainey and Frances Morris Rainey on September 17th, 1942. She graduated from Refugio High School, where she was an accomplished majorette, Texas state journalism finalist and a deft pianist. She attended and graduated from the Lillie Jolly School of Nursing at Memorial Baptist Hospital of Houston and attended the University of Houston in post-diploma study.
Entering the nursing profession early, she quickly showed her promise as a nurse. By her energy, intelligence and commitment to care, she became one of the youngest head nurses in the country at age 23, working for Dr. Denton A. Cooley from 1965-1966, who was on the front-line of the emerging science of heart surgery. While working in Houston, she met the love of her life, Dr. James Stanford Shelby. They were married in 1967 and celebrated nearly 50 years of marriage.
In addition to nursing, Mimi excelled at so many things:
She was very active in the recovery community since 1978, helping an innumerable number of people enter into recovery from alcoholism and drug abuse. She was also very active with the Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse.
She was a business owner who opened the clothing store, -SanShe- which specialized in hard to find fashions in Shreveport-Bossier and brought her unique style to the area.
She was an avid card player, playing bridge in her early years, and then evolving into a canasta “shark” playing weekly games with her fellow steel magnolias.
She was an artist and traveler, whether it was making a cameo on the Donahue Show, traveling to see the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican or visiting New Mexico/Arizona with her good friend Nita to paint the life and landscapes of the Southwest. And she would always keep one foot in her native Texas.
She was a two-time survivor of stage-4 lung cancer, learning first hand the challenge and hardship of having a cancer diagnosis. This experience led her to co-found, with Monique Dennie, the Caddo-Bossier Cancer Foundation League (CBCFL) to provide financial assistance to cancer patients for non-medical needs such as transportation, lodging and personal items.
She was a devoted Catholic, and her dedication led her to becoming inducted into the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem.
She was a loving wife and (very) patient mother of two boys who were 13 months apart. She was a grandmother who loved seeing her grandchildren grow up and being part of their lives.
She lived her life to the fullest, with love, deep affection and devotion to her friends and her beloved family.
She was preceded in death by her first son, James Stanford “Jeb” Shelby II and her beloved husband, Dr. James Stanford Shelby. She is survived by her loving sons, Dr. Bryan Christian Shelby and wife Dr. Vicky Tola-Shelby and Dr. Christopher Lindon Shelby and wife Carolyn Woods Shelby; her brothers Dr. Tim Rainey and wife, Jane Rainey and Mr. Chris Rainey and wife, Rosalie Rainey and both of their families. She leaves behind five grandchildren, Stanford, Linden, Christopher, Michael and Matthew.
Honoring Susan as pallbearers will be her grandsons, Stanford Shelby, Christopher H. Shelby, Michael Tola-Godfrey and Matthew Shelby, and her nephews, J.Tim Rainey and Colton Rainey.
Serving as honorary pallbearers will be Chris Rainey, Chad Shelby, Lad Cazedessus and Robert Pugh, Jr.
The family would like to thank McKayla “KK” Adams, Aime Thomas, Tracie Lostaglia, Sheena Rose, Debbie Garrison for their wonderful care; and her good friends, Nita Dixon, Mary Alice Scarborough, Anne Batson, Mimi Winterton and, her canasta “steel magnolias”: Barbara Burke, Louise Kinstrey, Jeannie Muslow, Judy Chidlow, Dorothy Lobel, for their friendship and love through the years; the Tola, Thompson and Pallon families; Robert Pugh, Jr., George McGovern and Tandy Lewis; Dr. Sean Denham and family, Dr. Anil Veluvolu, Dr. Lane Rosen, Dr. Paul Guidry, Dr. Rich Jacobson, Dr. Tejaswi Kalva, Dr. Asim Naveed, Dr. Kamlesh Jani, Dr. Bharat Guthikonda and the clinical staff of the Willis-Knighton Pierremont Intensive Care Unit and Emergency Department for their exceptional care of our beloved Mimi. The family would also like to give special thanks and gratitude to Mrs. Shelby’s long-time friend and assistant, Susan Turner.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials may be made to the Caddo-Bossier Cancer-Foundation League, Inc. 3300 Albert Bicknell Dr. #3, Shreveport LA 71103 (www.caddo-bossiercancerfoundationleague.org).