TURNER — Shelley started working in the insurance industry in 1990 with her mother, Norma Bessey Colby, when Bessey Insurance Agency was run out of her home. Mom had taken over the agency from her parents, Marion [Waterman] Bessey and Gerald Heald Bessey in 1977. Bessey Insurance was formed in 1939, based at Shelley’s grandparents’ kitchen table, with just one insurance company, which is now Concord Group Insurance.

In 1996, Shelley bought the agency from her mother, keeping the agency a home-based business.

Shelley joined Weber Insurance Group in 2006 and moved the business to an office on Turner St. in Buckfield and Bessey Insurance was no longer a home-based business.

In 2012, Shelley partnered with Mark Cote and moved the agency to its current location at 10 Snell Hill Rd in Turner. In 2021, Mark sold his interest in the agency to Kam Kimball, and in 2023, she did the same, announcing her plans to retire at the end of 2024.

Shelley is proud to say that Bessey Insurance Agency has numerous clients who have been with their agency for well over 60 years, many of whom still have their insurance policies with Concord Group Insurance. Shelley stated “I will miss my clients, underwriters, company reps, and co-workers and thank them for working with and trusting my family and myself for so many years”.

Shelley plans to spend plenty of time with her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. She enjoys camping, gardening, sewing and wintering in Florida.

We would like to thank Shelley for her years of service, hard work, dedication and friendship. We wish her the best for the next chapter of her life.