Shelly, Anthony S. (1853-1928)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1928 Jan 11 p. 1

Birth date: 1853 Feb 28

text of obituary:

REV. A. S. SHELLY CALLED BY DEATH

The sad message of the passing of Rev. A. S. Shelly, on Thursday, January 5, was received here early this week. Rev. Shelly was widely known among Mennonites, having held responsible positions in the General Conference during various periods of his life. At the time of his death he was Secretary of the Home Mission Board and Editor of the Home Missions department of the Mission Quarterly, a periodical published by the Mission Boards.

Death came to Rev. Shelly after a relatively brief illness. Funeral services were held Tuesday at the West Swamp Mennonite church, Quarkertown [sic Quakertown], Pa., interment also being made at that place.

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1928 Feb 1 p. 1

text of obituary:

Rev. A. S. Shelly

Anthony Shelly was born near West Swamp, Pa., February 28, 1853, being a descendant of Abraham Shelle, one of the pioneer Mennonite settlers in the upper and of Bucks county. The family was always largely represented in the churches of the locality. He was the son of Levi and Barbara Shelly, life long members of the Swamp church and he grew up under the ministry of the late Revs. John Oberholtzer and Andrew Shelly, having been baptized under the ministry of the latter. Rev. Shelly was one of the young men of our church who was sent to Wadsworth for his education. He also later was a graduate of the State Normal School at Millersville, Pa. Having received training for the teaching profession in his youth he spent a number of years in the work. He was an instructor in the normal school that for a time took over the old seminary building in Wadsworth. For a number of years he taught in the public schools of Newton and other places in his native county. With the establishment of the Mennonite Preparatory School at Halstead, Kansas, he was called to be one of the instructors. in the year 1888 he returned from Kansas and was associated with Bro. U. S. Stauffer in the publishing of the Quakertown Free Press. in 1891 he became pastor of the Herford church, Bally, Pa., having been licensed an evangelist in the Eastern District Conference and later ordained to the ministry. He served the Bally church for twenty-five years during which time a new church was built and a session of the General Conference, over which he presided was held in the building. During this period he was also pastor of the Zionsville and Boyertown churches. At the close of this long ministry in Bally he moved to Upland, Calif., to assume the pastorate of the Mennonite church there. Remaining in California three years he moved to Bluffton, Ohio, where for a time he served the First Church as its pastor and later was associated with the local hospital. His last charge was the old Germantown congregation. He effected a better organization of the church and won the high esteem of the community. His activities in his last yeas were not confined to his Germantown church alone. He was secretary of the Home Mission Board, a position that involved frequent travel and considerable work. He also was an active contributor to the church papers, writing articles of interest and worth. As secretary he edited the Home Mission section of the Mission Quarterly. For a number of years he was one of the editors of The Mennonite and associated in the editing of the Mennonite Year Book. One of his most valuable contributions to the literature of the church was the translation of the Mennonite Articles of Faith by Cornelis Ris, which was published by the General Conference as a standard of Mennonite doctrine. He also was one of a committee that revised and re-edited the Mennonite Catechism. For many years he was a director of the Mennonite Home for the Aged at Frederick, Pa., and for another long period he served as one of the directors of the Perkiomen Seminary (now Perkiomen School). Perhaps the most distinguished service he gave the church was his service as president of the General Conference over a period of five terms.

Brother Shelly's death came suddenly. Apparently in the best of health he was stricken with a heart attack on the morning of January 5, and passed away the same day at the age of 74 years.

Funeral services were held in the Germantown church on the following Monday evening when services were conducted in which Revs. A. J. Neuenschwander, N. B. Grubb, S. M. Grubb, Dr. S. K. Mosiman, D. J. Unruh, and S. M. Musselman participated. On Tuesday the remains were conveyed to the West Swamp church for burial where services were conducted in which Revs. S. M. Rosenberger, A. M. Fretz, N. B. Grubb, J. E. Amstutz, J. M. Regier, and Dr. O. S. Kriebel participated. The pall bearers were Revs. Amstutz, Regier, Soldner, Neuenschwander, Boyer and Rosenberger.

A special memorial service was also held in the Herford church on Sunday, January 16. — Mennonite.