Shelley M. Latreille

Shelley Marie Latreille passed away on November 4th, 2023, in Omaha Nebraska at the age of 43.  She was born in Amsterdam, New York on August 25th, 1980.  

Shelley was a lifelong learner who absolutely loved education.  At the time of her passing, Shelley held five Associates of Applied Science Degrees, three Bachelors of Science Degrees, and two Masters of Science Degrees.  Professionally, Shelley had been in Human Resource Management for over 20 years.

While Shelley loved education, her passion was photography.  She loved taking pictures of the world around her so she could share what she saw with everyone.  Leaving her home state in 2013 Shelley moved to some beautiful locations with amazing photographic opportunities and adventures to boot.  While still in New York, she saw and photographed the state from the top to the bottom, from the East to the West.  From the rolling Adirondack Mountains to Niagara Falls.  From the Mohawk River Valley to New York City and everything in between.  

After leaving New York Shelley traveled to the Green Mountain State.  She traveled and photographed a great deal in Vermont.  From the equally amazing Green Mountains to the picturesque small towns and villages like Stowe, Berlin, Williamstown, and Montpelier.  After Vermont, Shelley moved to Lancaster County Pennsylvania, Amish Country.  This was a whole new state and environment for Shelley, not a Glacial state like her home State of New York but a state with so much history and scenery all its own.  From Lancaster City, the oldest inland city in the United States, to the historic battlefields at Gettysburg.  From the Wolf Sanctuary in Lititz to the great Susquehanna River in Columbia.  She even got to visit a bucket list location for her at Centralia after touring a coal mine in the area.

Rockland Maine was the next stop for Shelley in her adventure.  A large seacoast village about 45 minutes north of Portland with an iconic breakwater in the harbor with lighthouse.  So many beautiful seacoast villages and so many beautiful vistas.  Of course, no photographic opportunity in Maine would be complete without some of the most amazing and iconic lighthouses.  She even had a chance to tour and photograph something you don’t see every day in the East, the Desert of Maine. 

Shelley’s time in Maine was brief for the next great location on her journey that would take her all the way across the country.  From the East Coast beyond the typical West Coast and up to Alaska.  Of course, you can’t easily get to Alaska in the winter.  Across the country Shelley went and ended up in the great state of Utah; what a journey in between.  All firsts for Shelley and some amazing opportunities for her to see something amazing and capture it forever. 

Shelley would never make it to Alaska.  Utah had its own draw and Shelley would spend the next five years there.  So many adventures to be had in and around Utah and so many sights.  All she had to do was walk out the front door and was surrounded by beauty.  Utah kept Shelley very busy enjoying her passion.  Idaho to the North, the majestic Salt Flats to the West.  The deserts to the South with famous locals that included Arches, Zions, Silver Reef.  Even buffalo roaming free on Antelope Island sitting in The Great Salt Lake.

Utah was where Shelley would learn she had liver cirrhosis, and nobody knew why.  Eventually Shelley would arrive in Omaha by way of South Dakota to seek treatment.  Despite her condition, Shelley still hungered for the beauty and experience of each place she called home.  South Dakota has a wonder all its own like all the other great states in the United States.  From the home of Laura Ingles Wilder to the breathtaking waterfalls in Sioux Falls.  Even a small wonderful little zoo up in Watertown that had Kangaroos.  Shelley always saw something amazing that she had to capture in every place she went.

Nebraska would be the last stop in Shelley’s adventure, but her experiences will forever live on thanks to her passion for photography.  It is impossible to sum up a journey that has taken more than 22 years to reach the end, but I hope this serves to at least lay out some of the major points along the way. 

Shelley was always looking for the next amazing thing to document forever and the next topic to add to her vast knowledge.  She always had a huge smile and those who knew her loved her.  She was such a kind person who loved helping people, studying something new, and photographing something amazing.  Her light will be deeply missed.  

She is survived by her husband of 22 years Nicholas Latreille.