Irving Chase Sheldon

Irving Chase Sheldon, son of James Rhodes Sheldon, Jr. and Marjorie Starkweather Chase, died peacefully at his Gould Way home in Saunderstown at sunset on Tuesday the 8 ^th of September, 2020.

He is survived by his four children, Dorcas Adkins, Irving Jr., Forrest and Roberts and by his many grand- and great-grandchildren.

Irving was born at home in Narragansett, R.I., and died 99 years later at home in Saunderstown, seven miles to the north.

An ROTC graduate of Yale University, Irv saw his college days cut short so that he could graduate in three years and join the United States Navy's Pacific Fleet.  Raised on boats and a man of the sea, he was to serve as Lieutenant on the CIC bridge of Destroyer 678, the USS McGowan.  He regarded his time of service and the friendships he established aboard as some of the best moments of his life.

Upon completion of his naval training and prior to his deployment aboard the McGowan, Irv married his Saunderstown summer sweetheart Shirley Webster. Once he had returned from the war the two settled in the north end of North Kingstown and raised their four children. Spending wonderful summers in Saunderstown where both their extended families resided continued the connection to that community.  Shirley’s family’s home in the village was their final residence for 50 years.

He was absolutely all about boats, mainly those with sails.  If he was not on one or building one, he was reading about one!  An experienced navigator, he participated in many ocean races and later a life of cruised the New England coast and eventually down to Florida and the Bahamas in his sloop “North Star” and, later, the Herreshoff 32 ketch “Wings”.  For many summers he and Shirl could be found cruising the coast of Maine, finding warmth in each other’s company amidst a sometimes foggy, grey landscape.

A lover of all things Herreshoff, he took immeasurable pride in building a few small craft designed by the great Captain Nat. His first was a Catspaw tender “Gem”, now at IYRS. In the late 1990s, Irv built " Quetenis ", a Haven 12 1/2, which is seen throughout the bay and is often moored at the Saunderstown Yacht Club.  He gained great satisfaction writing, and many years later, reading his detailed journals of the construction process.

A lifelong member of the SYC, he served many roles including as Commodore from 1969-1971.

Irv was an avid reader, writer and researcher, providing detailed accounts of the Saunderstown area and nautical history including the book "Saunderstown", all skillfully illustrated by Shirley, an accomplished artist.

He was a spiritual man, a long-time member of the Chapel of St. John the Divine -- a devotion he and Shirley shared.

A trustee of the Willett Free Library, Irv was an involved neighbor.  Until not long ago, Irv could be seen on his daily walks from his house on Gould Way past St. Johns and the Willett Library to the Saunderstown Post Office.  In the final years of his life, after losing Shirley in 2017 in her mid-90s, he took his greatest pleasure in his place on earth in the village of Saunderstown, by the shores of Narragansett Bay, looking out over Dutch Island to the east.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. John the Divine in Saunderstown or the Dutch Island Lighthouse Society.

Irv will be buried later this month with Shirley and with military honors in the Rhode Island Veterans' Cemetery in Exeter.