Sheila Rice-Wray

Sheila Rice-Wray
BornNovember 8, 1908
Stanley, South Dakota, USA
DiedMay 2, 1997
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
NSA memberCentral America
1954 - 1957
Greater Antilles
1957 - 1961
Dominican Republic
1961 - 1983
Spouse(s)Colston Rice-Wray m. 1939

Sheila Rice-Wray (November 8, 1908 - May 2, 1997) was an American Bahá’í who pioneered to Central and South America where she helped develop Bahá’í communities in Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, and Paraguay.

Biography[edit]

Rice-Wray was born Sheila Daisy Reid Nelson in Stanley, South Dakota, in 1908 to parents George Nelson and Marcella B. Reid.[1] She studied education and architectural engineering and also became an accomplished painter. She became a Bahá’í in 1938 and in 1939 she married Colston Rice-Wray in Rapid City, South Dakota.[2]

At some point Rice-Wray wrote to Shoghi Effendi asking where she should pioneer to serve the Faith and received a reply that she should settle in Latin Ameirca. In 1947 she pioneered from her home in Chicago to Central America spending time living in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic.[3]

In 1950 Rice-Wray briefly pioneered to Paraguay, then to Bolivia, and then to the Dominican Republic, at the request of Dorothy Baker, which remained her home for the rest of her life. She was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of Central America in 1954 serving until 1957 when the National Spiritual Assembly of the Greater Antilles was established which she was also elected to. In 1961 an independent National Spiritual Assembly was formed for the Dominican Republic and she was elected to the body serving as its treasurer until 1983.[3]

In 1997 Rice-Wray passed away at her pioneer post in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.[4]

Bahai.media has a related page: Category:Sheila Rice-Wray






References[edit]

  1. https://sortedbyname.com/letter_r/ricewray.html
  2. Earl Redman, Erica Toussaint (2023). A Day for Very Great Things. United Kingdom: George Ronald. p. 327. ISBN 9780853986614.
  3. 3.0 3.1 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1999). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 26 (1997-1998), Pg(s) 277. View as PDF.
  4. Sheila Daisy Reid (Nelson) Rice-Wray at WikiTree.com

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