Ended legal row lets Shelby rest
2012-07-25 08:37
SHELBY FINALLY TO BE LAID REST: Carroll Shelby will be cremated and his ashes split between his children, estate and wife following a lengthy legal dispute.
Author: NOMAAN MERCHANT
DALLAS, Texas - Celebrated auto designer and race car driver Carroll Shelby will finally be buried, more than two months after his death, now that a legal dispute between his children and wife is over.
Shelby's body has been held in a Dallas morgue since his death in May 2012.
His children said their father signed a directive in 2012 to have his remains cremated and split between them and a plot in Texas.
ASHES SPLIT FIVE WAYS?
His wife, Cleo Shelby, said the directive was a forgery and said another document signed in 2010 gave her power over his affairs.
Both sides said they were close to reaching a formal settlement, heading off a civil trial scheduled for July 26. They said the agreement would allow Shelby's body to be cremated but with the ashes split five ways instead of four, with an extra share for Cleo Shelby.
Shelby's oldest son, Michael, said: "We're not happy with it but we want to get my dad in the ground."
Cleo Shelby said she was thankful the fight was over: "Both sides have agreed to immediately halt the litigation involving the burial of my husband, and he will soon be laid to rest."
Shelby was the force behind the legendary Shelby Cobra sports car, as well as versions of Ford's Mustang and Chrysler's Viper.
A former chicken farmer, philanthropist, safari tour operator and the maker of a well-known line of chili, Shelby was also one of the nation's longest-living heart transplant recipients, having received a heart in June 1990.
In the months before his death he spent hours test-driving his last Mustang Shelby GT500 capable of reaching a top speed of more than 320km/h.
