Victoria Fenton Shelar, 86, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, at her home in Kendal at Lexington with visits from loving friends who brought flowers and lots of support. She was the beloved wife of the late Lieutenant Commander Eugene Shelar, Navy veteran of World War II who survived the battles of Leyte, Lingayen Gulf and Okinawa. Born in 1940 to the late Mr. and Mrs. William Brewer Cudahy of Chicago, Victoria grew up in nearby Lake Forest, later graduating in 1961 with an AB in English and art history from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. She then moved to New York City where her favorite job was as editorial assistant to the Early American Art Department at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, helping to compile their first painting catalogue. Later she moved to be near her older brother, an artist who taught drawing at the Yale School of Art and Architecture in New Haven, but who tragically died young in 1969. Long fascinated by natural history, Victoria studied biology at Southern Connecticut State College in New Haven, graduating in 1972 with an MS in biology, having been awarded Departmental Honors for her thesis on wolf behavior. In 1976 Victoria moved with her first husband to Nags Head on North Carolina's Outer Banks where she started Victoria's Jewelry, a custom fine art jewelry-making business, designing in gold, silver, and precious stones. After her husband's death, she closed her shop and volunteered at The Nature Conservancy's newly opened Nags Head Woods Preserve, where she was appointed to the board after authoring a botanical research study in 1984 on the biogeographical significance of the Preserve's two magnolia grandiflora trees. In 1985, Victoria encountered her former botany professor from graduate school, Eugene Shelar, now widowed and retired as a seasonal ranger with the National Park Service at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore on Hatteras Island where he lived. They married in 1993, living between his house on the Outer Banks and hers in Norfolk. While in Norfolk, Victoria volunteered at RESPONSE Sexual Assault Support Services. The director, Nancy Brock, honored her with a merit award in 1993 for her keadership of their Boundary Violations Project, "Research and Education about Sexual Exploitation by Professionals," for which she had authored and designed an informational brochure titled "Boundary Violations." It was widely distributed throughout Tidewater at the offices of therapists, physicians, health professionals, and members of the clergy. As a survivor herself of such abuse, she considers the award to be her proudest achievement. She was preceded in death by her brother William Brewer Cudahy Jr., of Guilford, Conn.; her half brother Michael Cudahy of Palm Beach, Fla.; her brother-in-law Jim Shelar (Doris) of DeLand, Fla.; and two stepsons, William Shelar of Lenoir, N.C., and Jack Shelar of Colonial Beach. Survivors include a stepson, Eugene Shelar Jr. (Kay) of Sunnyvale, Calif.; and a stepdaughter, Martha Pope, of Washington, D.C.; also several step-grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Victoria will be cremated and her ashes scattered by her family, at a later date, together with those of her husband, Gene. In lieu of condolences, donations may be made to Connections Plus Hospice (315 Myers St., Lexington, VA 24450). Arrangements are by Harrison Funeral Home & Crematory.