Albert J. Shafter
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Albert J. Shafter, 85, of Carbondale, passed away on Wednesday, March 3, 2010, in Memorial Hospital.
Doc, as he was affectionately known by his grandchildren and great-grandson, was born in Carbondale on Sept. 15, 1924, the son of Albert J. and Iva (House) Shafter.
Services will be held at Walker Funeral Home in Carbondale at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 6, 2010, with a visitation preceding the service at 10:30 a.m. Private family graveside services will be held at the Harrisburg Sunset Lawn Cemetery.
Doc is survived by his wife of 64 years, Lynette "Junior" (Peek); sons, A. James Shafter (wife Virginia "Gigi" Robertson) of Decatur and Michael B. Shafter (wife Martha Limas) of Murphysboro; daughter, Belinda "Benjie" J. Davenport (husband Kent W. Davenport) of Weston, Mass.; grandchildren, Melissa Shafter Duncan (Scott) of St. Louis, Mo., Bradley Shafter Davenport, Kendall Davenport and Courtney Davenport, all of Weston, Mass.; and great-grandson, A.J. Duncan of St. Louis, Mo.
He was preceded in death by his parents and younger brother, Jim Shafter.
Doc obtained his bachelor of arts and master of arts degrees from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale and his Ph.D. from Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. After graduating from Iowa State he became the assistant superintendent of the Woodward State Hospital, Iowa. He served as an adjunct professor at SIU, superintendent of the Enid State School, Oklahoma, superintendent of the A.L. Bowen Developmental Center, Harrisburg and assistant zone director for the Illinois Department of Mental Health (Retardation).
Doc was a fellow of the American Association on Mental Retardation, received the SIU Alumni Achievement Award and served as the president of the SIU Alumni Association, Harrisburg American Legion "Man of the Year" award and was the first "Boss of the Year" from the Shawnee Chapter of National Secretaries Association. He served for many years as an editor of the American Journal on Mental Deficiency and column editor for MR Journal. He was a prolific writer with hundreds of publications in professional journals. He was the first chairman of the Carbondale City Planning Commission, president of the Shawnee Hills Country Club and a life member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
Doc spent his retirement years traveling with Junior and playing golf with friends at Crab Orchard Golf Club. He also "restarted" an advertising specialty company that had been run by his father. He often joked it was his "Multi-Ten Dollar" company.
Doc was a veteran of World War II, serving in the U.S. Army 1160th Engineer Combat Group in the European Theater.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Southern Illinois University Foundation, Carbondale.
Dr. Shafter's family is being served by Walker Funeral Home in Carbondale.