Henry Shelton and George Wiley Center records (Ms.2017.004)

Biographical/Historical Note

Henry Shelton was born in 1930 in Central Falls, RI. He attended St. Raphael Academy and then became a Catholic priest. He left the priesthood in 1972. He met and married Carol Reagan a former nun with the Sisters of Mercy. Carol Reagan Shelton was born and raised in Fall River, MA. She became a nun in the Sisters of Mercy in 1955, received her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Salve Regina University in Newport, RI in 1964, a Master’s Degree from the University of Minnesota, and Doctoral Degree from Brandeis University. She taught nursing at Salve Regina University and Rhode Island College. She dispensed her vows as a nun in 1970. Henry and Carol Shelton devoted their lives to social justice and public health.

Henry Shelton founded the George Wiley Center in Pawtucket, RI in 1981 to empower people to create social and economic justice through changes in public policy. The name of the center honors George Wiley (1931-1973) who was born in Warwick, RI, worked for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), and founded the National Welfare Rights Organization.

Shelton and the George Wiley Center have focused on the following issues affecting low-income populations: utility access and affordability, fair housing, labor unions, childhood poverty, and preventing hunger. They have worked on these goals through several major programs including the Rhode Island Campaign to Eliminate Childhood Poverty, Rhode Island Parents for Progress, and the Fund for Community Progress. The George Wiley Center has partnered with the Rhode Island Governor’s office, Representatives and Senators at the state and federal levels, and community groups of all types.

Henry Shelton died September 21, 2016 at his home in Cranston, RI. Carol Shelton continues to work with the George Wiley Center.

To learn more about the George Wiley Center visit their website: George Wiley Center.