Shelton sisters together again after nine years
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The two women — both born legally deaf — had been the closest of friends. Their father passed away when they were very young and their care was left in the hands of their mother.
That arrangement worked out well until the mother became ill and the two ladies were torn apart. Karen was placed in a home in Tennessee, while Kathlyn was sent hundreds of miles away to a home in Texas.
The separation was an emotional plane crash for the Sheltons, who were close-knit sisters. That’s why officials at Generations of Morrison were determined to reunite the two once Karen came into their care. The reunion finally took place earlier this month.
“When we did this, we felt like we really accomplished something,” said Generations of Morrison executive director Buffy Gaither. “They kept up their communication through the years by writing letters and they wanted to be back together.
“It was so important to them because they communicate with sign language. While we know sign language on a basic level, it’s a second language to us. We can’t talk to them the way they talk to each other because it’s their first language. They can communicate on a whole different level.”
Generations of Morrison is a 32-person facility which houses 16 males and 16 females. The Sheltons share a room together and talk all the time.
Gaither also credits the efforts of family members for bringing the two women back together. Aunt Marjorie Montgomery made the trip to Texas and personally drove Kathlyn to Warren County.