Rev. James Raymond Shelton

JMJ Father James Raymond Shelton, a Roman Catholic Priest, died from cardiac complications on July 29, 2020 at the age of 87 years old. Father was born June 16, 1933 in Youngstown, Ohio to James Matthew Shelton and Sara Petty Shelton. He was preceded in death by his parents and six elder siblings: Joe, Jack, Ellen, Bill, Tom and Pat. Father attended elementary school at St. Stephens Grade School in Niles, Ohio. He attended St. Paul High School and Minor Seminary in Canfield, Ohio from 1947 to 1951. His college years were spent in Youngstown College and later Youngstown University and finally Mexico City College in Mexico City, Mexico from 1951 to 1955. Upon graduation from College he entered the US Navy, US Atlantic Fleet on 2 May 1957 and was honorably discharged on 8 November 1962. Throughout his school years and military service Father contemplated the Roman Catholic Priesthood, but when his Brother married in Germany he said he thought he should strike out to find a wife in Switzerland. However Our Blessed Mother had other plans for him. She was the “woman” he found (or rather who found him) on his travels through the Holy Lands, Rome, Fatima, Portugal, and Lourdes, France. His circuitous trips around the world 6 times ultimately led him to Perth Australia where he was ordained a Roman Catholic Priest, incardinated in the Dioceses of Perth, Australia on June 30, 2000, and where he served until November 2010. At that time he came to Gainesville, Virginia, to support our newly established Holy Trinity Catholic Parish where he served faithfully as a Priest-in-Residence until January 2017. His service to the Arlington Dioceses and Holy Trinity Parish involved much work directing several Legion of Mary praesidia and the Knights of Columbus councils of Holy Trinity Parish in Gainesville and All Saints Parish in Manassas, VA. In May 2019 he moved to the Fairmont Holiday independent retirement community until a recent hospitalization and ultimately his death on July 29 , 2020. Father Shelton has been loved and admired by all the communities he served during his lifetime and will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him. He provided a prime example of conservative Roman Catholic living for our community and we will miss him and honor him for all that he gave to our growing Catholic community during these challenging years. There will be a visitation at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 8213 Linton Hall Road, Gainesville, VA 20155 from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on August 12. A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at Holy Trinity Catholic Church at 11:00 a.m. on August 13, with burial at the Quantico Military Cemetery in Quantico, VA at 1:30 p.m. on August 13, 2020.

Rev. James Raymond Shelton

June 16, 1933 - July 29, 2020