Shelby Dean Hemphill, 32, of Mexico, passed away very unexpectedly on Sunday, August 30, 2026.

Shelby was born on September 2, 1993 in Mexico, the beloved son of John E. Hemphill and Shelia Rae (Kable) Mastalski. He married the love of his life and best friend, Karra Lynn Butler, on August 30, 2023.

Mr. Hemphill worked for Hubbell Power Systems in Centralia in the Drop Forge department for the past several years.

Much like his parents, Shelby was quite intelligent and hardworking; like his father, he was mechanically gifted and humble; and like his mother, he was kind and thoughtful. He was emotionally intelligent, too, doing monthly check-ins with his children to support their mental wellbeing and life goals. He believed the best gift you can give your children is to spend time with them, enabling them to experience new places and activities, creating treasured memories together, including in the photograph above where he had just come in from pulling his kids for hours of playtime, sliding down the road in the snow. While money was always tight with four children at home, last year he got season passes to Six Flags for the whole family and this year to the City Museum, despite not liking crowds himself, nor being outside in the heat in his free time because of his job.

He and Karra were delighted to move to the family farm a few years ago where their children could roam and play and experience more nature and less screen time. Shelby worked a lot of overtime to be able to do things with and for the kids… fixing up used cars and ATVs, teaching the kids how to garden, raise livestock, fish, split firewood and plant trees. He was delighted this spring by the amount of berries the garden produced, especially the bonus berry brambles planted around the farm by birds from the original vines.

Shelby always helped people in need, even when it stretched his budget thin. Shelby was a Christian, having accepted Christ as his savior at 8 years old. He was kind and funny and irreverent in a sarcastic, fantastic way. Shelby had a strong sense of justice and compassion for people who were hurting. At 9 years old, when a bully was picking on a new girl on the school playground, Shelby walked over, punched the bully in the nose, then immediately reported to the office what he had done and why. At 19 years old, he showed up every weekend for months to help his dad and elder family members clean out and sell his grandpa’s properties. At 27, he and his young family showed up every weekend for months to prepare his father’s home for his homecoming after a severe traumatic brain injury.

Shelby touched the lives of so many people in so many profound and so many simple ways. From watching cooking shows and learning to become an amazing cook with Grandma Linda, to later assisting her on the farm as she struggled with COPD for 15 years; to cutting up with his brother Cody, who together managed to create a mysterious, human-sized hole in the wall in their childhood home; to rummaging through his mom’s cabinets for snacks as an adult because he knew she loved that and stocked them with him in mind; to partnering with his brother Chris to move their stepdad Jim’s family when Jim was too sick to do it; to creating a new game with his Aunt Kari for his kids to go bobbing for Jeep Wrangler ducks in a muck bucket; to voluntarily showing up early and returning the day after for many years to help his dad set up and tear down for the annual July 4th party that included friends and neighbors; to cutting and splitting wood with 4 generations of Hemphills and his Grandpa Ron; to teasing and encouraging each of his children, specifically tailored to their personalities, strengths and weaknesses; to the thousands of loving or serious or silly conversations with Karra. Shelby definitely worked hard and played hard and proved you could have a good time doing both, frequently being the reason people were laughing, including belting out Shania Twain’s, “Man, I Feel Like a Woman”. He was so full of love, laughter, contentment and happiness with plans for the future; like telling his mom the morning of his death he was going to order and plant 25 paw paw trees to add to his orchard; planning to rearrange landscaping at Aunt Kari’s this fall; finishing a bathroom in the basement to support the two new bedrooms he added over the last several months so each child had his/her own bedroom and a comfortable place to live into early adulthood since the cost of living is so high; buying Halloween costumes for his kids; fixing up a Jeep for the family’s newest driver… the list goes on and on and on. Shelby’s death is a tragedy and his loved ones will miss him forever. Please pray for them, send good vibes to them or whatever resonates with you.

Survivors include his devoted wife, Karra Hemphill of the home; and their beloved children Gaige, Brooklynn, Emma and Bradley; his mother, Shelia Mastalski; his siblings Chris (Kayla) Wright, Cody (Ciara) Wright and Elizabeth (Marcus) Power; Uncle Randy (Angel) Kable, Aunt Kari (Matt) Clark; father-in-law, Larry (Sam) Butler; brother-in-law Deacon (Rae) Butler; sister-in-law Starla (Willie) Peterson; grandmother Marinelle Sheeley; many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Shelby will be honored during a casual, informal supper on Saturday, September 26th at his favorite restaurant, EE Grill. In lieu of flowers or charitable donations, please come join the family anytime between 5 and 7 pm and simply pay for your own meal and gratuity. If you plan to attend, please text 314.520.9322 with your name and the total number of guests in your party by 8 pm on Saturday, September 19 so the restaurant can have an approximate headcount.

EE Grill

23703 SSR-EE

Center, MO 63436

Memorial donations may be made to support Shelby’s family at the following, legitimate GoFundMe link:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-karra-and-kids-after-shelbys-loss?attribution_id=sl:9174f182-33f0-4a0f-8d97-638ebb159ebc&lang=en_US&ts=1788212099&utm_campaign=fp_sharesheet&utm_content=amp30-treatment-2&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=facebook

Shelby was preceded in death by his father, John Hemphill; stepfather James Mastalski; mother-in-law, Madonna Johnson; grandparents Ray and Linda (Davenport) Kable and Ron Sheeley.

***CAUTION: Do not order testosterone on-line. This unregulated substance, taken without monitoring by a physician, can cause a psychotic break and complete mental collapse, including intense paranoia and losing touch with reality, leading to catastrophic suicide in those who are not suicidal.***