Mark C. Shelden, 72, of Glen Rock, was cutting down a tree on his Narrow Gauge Road property in Codorus Township on Monday, Oct. 26, when it fell and began rolling toward him, according to the coroner.
Shelden tried to get out of the way but fell to the ground and became trapped beneath the tree, the coroner said.
Emergency crews were dispatched to the 4000 block of Narrow Gauge Road around 11:40 a.m. and freed him around 11:58 a.m., county officials previously said.
Lifesaving efforts were attempted, but Shelden succumbed to his injuries, according to the release.
The coroner’s office listed his time of death as 1:19 p.m. Monday and said it responded to WellSpan York Hospital at 1:36 p.m. Deputy Coroner Molly York responded to certify the death.
County officials initially reported that the man died at the scene. The coroner’s subsequent release identified the hospital as the location where the office responded.
His cause of death was mechanical asphyxia in the setting of blunt force injuries, and his manner of death was ruled an accident, the coroner said. Pennsylvania State Police are investigating.
Born in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, Shelden was the son of the late Gerry and Carol (Smith) Shelden, according to his obituary published by Hartenstein Funeral & Cremation Care, Inc.
He shared 34 years of marriage with his wife, Sherry A. (Noble) Shelden, and had decades-long interests in antique cars and tractors, farming, farm equipment sales, and herding sheep with his border collies, his obituary states.
Shelden attended the University of Maryland and belonged to Shrewsbury Masonic Lodge No. 423, the Maryland Steam Historical Society, the Somerset Steam & Gas Engine Association, and the Antique Automobile Club of America.
“Mark was very personable and made friends everywhere he went, he never met a stranger,” his obituary reads.
The Somerset Steam and Gas Engine Association also remembered Shelden as a longtime member and friend who regularly attended its show, helped wherever he could, and made friends with everyone he met.
“His presence and kindness will be greatly missed,” the association wrote in a tribute.
Along with his wife, he is survived by his sisters, Kristin Baumann and Laura Zavadil; brothers, Brian and Eric Shelden; nine nieces and nephews; 17 grandnieces and grandnephews; and eight border collies, according to the funeral home.
Family and friends are invited to a celebration of life at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, at Hartenstein Funeral & Cremation Care, Inc., 24 N. Second St. in New Freedom.
Memorial donations may be made to Mid-Atlantic Border Collie Rescue or the Glen Rock Fire Company, P.O. Box 95, Glen Rock, PA 17327, the obituary states.
Click here to read the full obituary on Hartenstein Funeral & Cremation Care, Inc.'s website.
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