Tennessee mother of six widowed after experienced husband kills himself while suffering from PTSD

Tennessee news station WREG helped raise $1,300 for a mother of six whose stalwart husband tragically killed himself earlier this summer.

Courtney Shelton was widowed when her husband Chris took his own life in July after suffering from PTSD after a painful ordeal.

Chris, who Courtney said was “always doing something for someone else,” has struggled with his mental health after two deployments to Iraq.

The couple had six children together, four of whom remain in Courtney’s care aged 16, nine, eight and two.

“He was the sole provider of the household. She has been a housewife for years. She’s lost,” Courtney’s friend Rhonda Castleman told WREG, “bless her heart. She asked friends for help and we helped here and there where we could.

Chris and Courtney Shelton with four of their six children. Chris took his own life in July

Castleman reached out to WREG’s Pass it On program, which organizes anonymous donations from local communities for those in need who deserve a little extra help.

WREG contributed $300 and raised an additional $700 from anonymous donors. An unnamed Hardeman County church also contributed $300, bringing the total for the Sheltons to $1,300.

Courtney broke down as Castleman gave her the donations and the two hugged.

“I know it’s not a solution, but it will help for a minute,” Castleman told Courttey.

Chris, who Courtney said was “always doing something for someone else,” has struggled with his mental health after two deployments to Iraq

The couple had six children together, four of whom remain in Courtney’s care aged 16, nine, eight and two

Surrounded by her children, Courtney said the hardest thing was knowing that someone as good as her husband couldn’t get the help he needed.

“It’s just disheartening to know that someone is as good and as kind and caring and loving and supportive as Chris and all that he has done for this country and what he has done for his family and friends,” she told WREG, “And in the end , he couldn’t get the help he needed.’

“Our veterans deserve more. My husband deserves more. These kids deserve more,” she said.