Shelby Sanders Guilbert

Shelby Sanders Guilbert died on July 25, 2025 after a sudden illness at his home in Shreveport, Louisiana, surrounded by family. He was 79 years old, just 3 weeks shy of his 80th birthday.

Shelby was born on August 14, 1945 in Washington, D.C. to Edward Hunt Guilbert and Ida McMillan Guilbert. He grew up in the D.C. area and then Pensacola, Florida, where his father retired after serving as a captain in the Navy. Shelby was an avid water skier in his youth, loved baseball and the outdoors, and earned the rank of Eagle Scout. He graduated from Pensacola High School in 1963, and then followed in his father’s footsteps by accepting an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, where he graduated in 1968 with a degree in physics. Shelby’s fellow midshipmen gave him the nickname “Gilbs,” a name which his grandchildren affectionately called him later in life.

After the Naval Academy, Shelby became a naval aviator and flight instructor, ultimately flying five different types of fighter jets, including F-9s and A-4s, while seeing service on the U.S.S. Lexington and the U.S.S. Enterprise. After retiring from the Navy, Shelby met Peggy, the love of his life, and eventually settled in Shreveport, Louisiana where he raised his family and lived for almost 50 years. While family and service were always his top priorities, Shelby worked for over ten years as a geologist and oilfield services engineer, before later returning to the skies as a commercial airline pilot for nearly two decades.

Shelby was a devoted family man, and his children fondly remember how much time he spent volunteering as a Cub Scout pack leader, Girl Scout cookie dad, sideline youth soccer coach, and Shreveport Metropolitan Ballet supporter. He played an integral role in the formation of the Caddo Bossier Soccer Association (“Cabosa”), serving on its Board of Directors in its early years, and he enjoyed seeing the sport grow in the Shreveport area.

Although he was often viewed as a man of few words, Shelby was a dedicated member of First Presbyterian Church of Shreveport for almost 50 years, where he served in numerous leadership positions as a deacon, an elder, and a trustee. In his retirement, Shelby became even more committed to the Church’s outreach and mission efforts, visiting Haiti over ten times to help build schools and sanitation systems. He later served on the Board of Trustees of the Haiti Education Foundation. In his spare time, he loved gardening, push-mowing his lawn, traveling abroad with Peggy, singing loudly in church, and spending time with family, especially on the beach in the Pensacola area.

Shelby is survived by his wife Margaret (“Peggy”) Ruth (Sundberg) of 51 years; his children, Shelby, Jr. (Alexis) of Atlanta, Georgia, Neill (Kelly) of Montrose, Alabama, Margaret (“Beth”) (Scott) of St. John, USVI; his seven grandchildren, Piper, Neill, Jr. (“Mack”), Catherine (“Effie”), Eloise, Graham, Scott (“Rollie”), and John (“Boyd”); his brother, Edward (Sara), and many nieces and nephews. Shelby was predeceased by his father, Edward, his mother, Ida, and his sister, Sandra.

Memorial services for Shelby will be held at First Presbyterian Church, Shreveport, Louisiana on August 16, 2025 at 2:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that any memorials be given to the Haiti Education Foundation or First Presbyterian Church of Shreveport so they can continue the outreach work that was so close to his heart.