Lena Dahl Shelby
7 May 1997
Lena Dahl ShelbyLOS ANGELES, May 6 -- Lena Dahl Shelby of East Texas and Southern California died in an automobile accident May 1, 1997 near her East Texas home.
Lena was born in Stockholm, Sweden; was the loving mother of two daughters, Juliana and Kristina; and the devoted wife of automotive pioneer Carroll Shelby. Lena is also survived by her mother and two brothers in Sweden. Lena raised horses and devoted her time to the Lena and Carroll Shelby Children's Fund.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made in her memory to the Lena and Carroll Shelby Children's Foundation. A memorial service is being planned for a later date, and further details can be obtained by calling Herlita Natividad at Shelby American, 310-538-1974.
SOURCE Carroll Shelby
Lena Shelby, wife of automotive pioneer, 51
LOS ANGELES May 6, 1997; (AP) reported that Lena Dahl Shelby, philanthropist and wife of automotive pioneer Carroll Shelby, was killed in a car crash in Texas, her husband and a family spokeswoman said Tuesday. Mrs. Shelby was 51.
Mrs. Shelby, a miniature horse rancher, died Thursday near the couple’s Pittsburg, Texas, home, said spokeswoman Herlita Natividad.
``She lost control of the car,? her husband said. ``The sun blinded her and she didn’t have her seat belt on. She was going to see her new horse.?
Mrs. Shelby, born in Stockholm, Sweden, also devoted her time to the Lena and Carroll Shelby Children’s Fund. The Shelbys also have a Los Angeles home.
In addition to her husband, Carroll, a Hall of Fame race driver and developer of muscle cars including the Shelby Cobra, Mrs. Shelby is survived by adult daughters, Juliana and Kristina; her mother, and her two brothers.
A memorial service was pending.
OBITUARIES Lena Dahl Shelby is dead
Lena Dahl Shelby, 51, a longtime member of the Swedish community in Lios Angeles, died on May I of injuiries suffered in a car accident nearr Pittsburg, Texas, Born in Stockholm, Sweden, Shelby came to Los Angeles the first time in the 1960 s to look up her father.
She stayed on in Los Angeles where she met and married her first husband, who also was Swedish. The couple had two daughters, both born in the United States, but the family eventually moved back to Sweden.
The marriage ended in divorce, and Shelby and the daughters moved back to Los Angeles, where she eventually married Carroll Shelby, a race driver and developer of the Shelby Cobra automobiles, one of which is owned by Sweden’s king,Carl Gustaf.
Lena Shelby was a homemaker, who loved to cook and entertain the family’s friends, particularly her contemporary Swedish friends, for whom her home became a central gathering spot that kept them all together through the years.
