Mike departed this life following a lengthy battle with esophageal cancer and went to join his Heavenly Father on May 10, 2022. A celebration honoring his life will be at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 13, 2022 at the Hattiesburg Chapel of Moore Funeral Home. Interment will be at 2 p.m. in Mobile Memorial Gardens, 6100 Three Notch Rd., Mobile, AL.
Mike is a 1974 alumnus of Eupora High School and received a bachelor’s in accounting from MSU in 1984. A resident of Hattiesburg, MS he worked for the Alabama Department of Revenue as a foreign audit specialist. Prior to joining the ADOR workforce, he worked for the Mississippi Department of Revenue for 30 years, beginning in 1985. Gaming came to the state in 1991 and Mike went from auditing sales tax to managing a team who audited casinos until the state Gaming Commission was formed and took over the responsibility. In 1999 he was promoted to District Manager of the Senatobia office and in 2011 was named Southern Region Director, Office of Tax Enforcement, relocating to Hattiesburg until his retirement in 2014. Mike and Faye cruised the world always enjoying seeing new things, visiting new places and meeting new people. He loved to play cards and excelled at Texas Hold’em. Referred to by his friends as “honest and sincere,” Mike was playful, teasing and still loving with his family and friends even as his time with them drew to a close. He is proceeded in death by his father, Wayne Shelby; step-daughter, Tiffani Smith Juarez; mother-in-law Pat Fauver; brother-in-law, Fronis Fauver and sister-in-law, Cindi Young. As well as Tom and Ruth Alldread, who were very special to him.
He will be greatly missed by the love of his life, Shelley Faye Shelby; his sons Michael Jerrod Shelby (Kellie), Virginia Beach, VA; Nathan Shelby (Taylor), Pope, MS; and daughter Kathryn (Cody) Meaux, Lafayette, LA; mother JoAn Batchelor Shelby, Eupora/Forest, MS; sisters Deborah Dees, Ridgeland, MS and Laurie (Don) Elkins, Forest, MS; and his second mother, his aunt Loudie Bailey of Eupora, MS. Mike leaves behind eight grandchildren, Elizabeth, Hermione, Ginny, Maddie and Richard Shelby of Virginia Beach, VA; Olivia and Ethan Meaux of Lafayette, LA and Christian Juarez of Hattiesburg, MS. He will also be remembered by his beloved nieces, Amber (Taylor) Ash, Carrollton, GA; Kelli (Nick) Davis, Forest, MS; his special brothers-in-law, Jerry (Debbie) Fauver, Lewisburg, KY; Clay Fauver, Semmes, AL and Will (Brandy) Fauver, Mobile, AL; his cousins Robert, Joel, David and Phillip Shelby who were the brothers he never had, and Betty Maddox and Becky Sharp who were like his little sisters, and a host of extra special Batchelor cousins and friends.
May 27, 1956 - May 10, 2022
Visitation will be held at 5:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. on Thursday, May 12, at Moore Funeral Home, 805 Hardy Street in Hattiesburg. The family wishes to thank Forrest General Hospice, Dr. David Morris and his nurse Audra for their gentle, loving, attentive care during Mike’s last days.
