Forty-year Claremont resident Alfred Edwin Sheldon, a retired and “typical” professor, said his wife, Helia Sheldon, died of congestive heart failure at his home on February 4, 2009. He was 77.

“He was a very special type of individual,” said Ms. Sheldon, noting, with an affectionate laugh, that he was quite handsome as a young man.

Born on January 11, 1932 in New Jersey, Mr. Sheldon attended the Virginia Military Institute for one year after high school. He then transferred to the United States Military Academy at West Point, graduating in 1955 with a class of comrades that remained lifelong close friends and with whom he would frequently gather and reminisce in the “beautiful dining room” at West Point, said his wife.

“He was very close to his classmates,” she said.

Mr. Sheldon began learning to fly while at West Point, continuing his training as a captain in the US Air Force after graduation.  His military career steered him to Colorado Springs where he taught English and American literature at the United States Air Force Academy.

With the onset of the Vietnam War, Mr. Sheldon’s life took another path.

“He decided he didn’t want to fight. He wasn’t a fighter. He was a very calm and peaceful man,” said Ms. Sheldon, explaining that he retired in 1965 with an honorable discharge.  

Mr. Sheldon moved to California, settling in Claremont and seeking professorial opportunities at the many academic institutions in the surrounding area. He began teaching in the English department at Cal Poly Pomona, next venturing into the communications department where he served as chairperson for many years.  

“He loved to be with his students. That’s for sure,” Ms. Sheldon said, noting that he also taught some linguistics courses at various institutions in the area, including the University of Southern California, having himself undertaken a fair amount of linguistics coursework towards a PhD at California State University, Fullerton. 

It was in 1969 that Mr. Sheldon married, meeting and becoming close friends with his now wife of 39 years when she rented a home from him. He was a very attentive landlord, frequently tending to the house, cleaning the pool, mowing the lawns and taking care of the landscaping—perhaps more than was necessary, but his ambitions were more than mere home maintenance. 

Together, Mr. Sheldon and his wife belonged to the Da Camera Society of Mt. Saint Mary’s College, a music and historical society that presents chamber music concerts at historical sites all over the region.

“It was lovely,” Ms. Sheldon remarked.

Mr. Sheldon also adored cats and enjoyed golfing with friends and tackling home renovation projects, which he seemed to always be involved with in one way or another.

“The love of his life was to be an architect,” said his wife. “He loved that. Build, build, build. Always building things.”

Passionate about traveling, he and his wife traveled “almost everywhere except India,” she said, and they particularly enjoyed Italy.

“Oh, we loved Italy,” she said.

Mr. Sheldon is survived by his wife, Helia Sheldon of Claremont; by his daughter, Diane Stuart of Rockville, Maryland; by his stepchildren, Jim Reese of Ridgecrest and Carla Montejo of Seattle, Washington; and by his grandchildren, Max and Sam Wappel and Girard Thompson.

A private ceremony was held at Riverside National Cemetery on March 27, 2009.