The following obituary was originally published on Legacy.com by Preston Funeral Home on Jul. 22, 2026:
With great sadness, we announce that Christopher Kaye Shelffo of South Orange, New Jersey, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on June 29, 2026, at 65 years of age.
The third child of the late Loren and Patricia Shelffo, Chris was born in Arlington Heights, Illinois, in 1960. He spent formative years in Palatine, Illinois, until he moved with his family to South Orange, New Jersey. He attended South Orange Junior High School and later graduated from Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey.
During a family trip to Mystic Seaport, Chris fell in love with the ocean. That love led him to enlist in the U.S. Navy before he’d even graduated high school, as part of the Navy‘s Delayed Entry Program. He served his country for six years and finished his service with the rank of Petty Officer First Class. That he was able to achieve this rank in only six years speaks to his skills as both a sailor and leader.
Christopher Shelffo
Chris spent most of his time in the Navy as an internal communications electrician on the nuclear-powered USS California, a guided missile cruiser. Over the course of numerous deployments, Chris traveled around the world. Most notably, Chris was on the California when it was part of Operation Eagle Claw in 1980, the failed mission to rescue the American hostages in Iran. The California also became the first nuclear-powered ship to circumnavigate the globe in almost 20 years when it did so in 1981.
After leaving the Navy, Chris worked for Wilson Walton International in Hoboken, New Jersey, from 1984 to 2007. In this role, he took his naval expertise into the private sector. As a ship technician, he continued his international travel to exotic ports of call around the world to repair ships of various sizes.
After leaving Wilson Walton, Chris spent time helping our mother in her later years. While he looked after her, he worked as a delivery driver for Town Hall Deli in South Orange, and he could often be found at the deli even when he wasn’t working. Delivering food was one of his favorite jobs, because he enjoyed how it made people happy. He worked at Town Hall until a few weeks before his death.
Chris is survived by his daughter, Amber Zurowski (Dan); his five siblings, and numerous nieces, nephews, grand nieces, and grand nephews.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you donate to either of these two organizations that provide assistance to veterans, Community Hope (https://www.communityhope-nj.org/) or Soldier On (https://www.wesoldieron.org/).
The family also wishes to express our gratitude to the Veterans Administration for their care and support.
The family invites friends to gather with us to celebrate Chris’ life on August 29, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. at Preston Funeral Home at 153 So. Orange Avenue in South Orange, New Jersey.
