Biography

03/05/1917 - 12/12/2006

Governor Raymond Philip Shafer (R50) Crawford and Mercer Counties 1959-1962   

Early Life: 

Governor Raymond Philip Shafer, born March 5, 1917, New Castle, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania; son of David P. and Mina Miller Shafer; family moved, Meadville, Crawford County, Pennsylvania, 1933; public school education; Eagle Scout; valedictorian, Meadville High School, 1934; Allegheny College, A.B., political science, 1938; Yale University Law School, LL.B., 1941; married, Jane Harris Davies Shafer, 1941, children, Diane, Raymond Philip Jr., Jane; attorney, Winthrop, Stimson, Putnam and Roberts, New York City, New York; member, Pennsylvania, New York Supreme Courts, United States Federal Courts; ensign, Lieutenant, United States Navy, Pacific Campaign, patrol torpedo boat (PT Boat) Commander, Meritorious Service, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, World War II, 1942-1945; elected, Republican, District Attorney of Crawford County, 1948-1956; elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1959-1962; elected, Republican, 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, 1963-1967; Board of Trustees of Allegheny College, 1964; delegate, Pennsylvania, Republican National Convention from Pennsylvania, 1964; elected, Republican, 39th Governor of Pennsylvania, 1967-1971; presidential appointee, chairman, National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse, 1971-1973; chief executive officer, chairman of the board, TelePrompTer Corporation, 1972-1973; counselor, Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, 1974-1977; 18th president, Allegheny College, 1985-1986; resumed, law practice, Meadville; associated, accounting firm, Coopers and Lynbrand; died, December 12, 2006 (age 89 years, 282 days), Meadville, Crawford County, Pennsylvania; interment, Saint John’s Cemetery, Union Township, Crawford County, Pennsylvania. 

Professional titles; business ownership; board memberships; local government; club memberships: 

Member, American Bar Association; Grange; Rotary; American Legion; Veterans of Foreign Wars, Phi Kappa Psi.  

Early Life: 

Participated, 80 combat missions, World War II, PT boats; commanding officer, PT-359; executive officer, Squadron 27. Squadron executive officer, sailed aboard PT-375, one of the first PT boats to penetrate the defenses of Manila Bay, Philippines, during the Battle of Manila. Earned, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, rank of lieutenant during his tour in the Pacific theater. Commanded the PT boat that brought General Douglas MacArthur back to Corregidor Island, Philippines, personally escorting him ashore to fulfill the famous promise: "I shall return." 

Professional titles; business ownership; board memberships; local government; club memberships: 

President, Community Chest (United Way); member, Republican Executive Committee of Crawford County; member, American Legion, Veterans Foreign Wars, Masons, Rotary.  

Distinguished Eagle Scout Award, Boy Scouts of America.   

Pennsylvania Politics: 

Elected, Republican, Crawford County District Attorney, 1948-1956 

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 50th district, Crawford and Mercer Counties, 1959-1962. 

Elected, Republican, Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, Governor William Warren Scranton, 1963-1967.  

Delegate, Pennsylvania, Republican National Convention from Pennsylvania, 1964.  

Elected, Republican, 39th Governor of Pennsylvania, 1967-1971; administration is perhaps best known for reforms that were made to the Commonwealth’s antiquated 1874 constitution, bi-partisan constitutional convention convened, December 1967, finished, February 1968; Act 120 of 1970 created, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PENDOT) which took on safety and maintenance of the state highways; Another entity created, Pennsylvania Crime Commission. Final governor to be elected under the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1874, who was ineligible for two consecutive terms.   

Act 195 of 1970, made Pennsylvania the first state in the nation to permit its public employees to bargain collectively, join a union, and strike. The law resulted from a study by the Public Employee Law Commission (otherwise known as the Hickman Commission) that recommended numerous changes in the relationship between public sector employees and employers. Act 275 of 1970, created, Department of Environmental Resources.   

Continued Government Service / National Politics: 

Appointed, vice-chair, Republican Governor’s Association, 1969; accepted the chair from California’s Governor Ronald Reagan, 1970. 

Presidential appointee, chairman, National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse, also known as Shafer Commission, President Richard Milhous Nixon, 1971-1973.  

Counselor, Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, 1974-1977. 

Legacy:  

Class president, Allegheny College, member, Phi Kappa Psi fraternity; athletically achievements, All-Pennsylvania honors, basketball; All-American recognition, soccer. 

Yale University classmates, Pennsylvania Governor William Warren Scranton; President Gerald Ford, Supreme Court Justices Potter Stewart, Byron White. Others with prominent political careers, United States Secretary of State Cyrus R. Vance, first director, Peace Corps Robert Sargent Shriver. 

Named after, auditorium, Allegheny College; residence halls, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Edinboro University.  

Interstate 79 - named the Raymond P. Shafer Memorial Highway in Pennsylvania.

Cited: 

Cox, Harold. "Senate Members S". Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University. 

Raymond P. Shafer: Military Career (gandeleyn.com)   

Pennsylvania Gubernatorial Election Returns 1966". Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. 

PA State Archives - MG-209 - Scope and Content Note - Raymond P. Shafer Papers  

Sidman, Robert (June 1969). "Constitutional Revision in Pennsylvania--Problems and Procedures". West Virginia Law Review. 71 (3): pages 306–319. 

Governor Raymond Philip Shafer | PHMC > Pennsylvania Governors (state.pa.us) 

Raymond Philip Shafer (1917-2006) - Find a Grave Memorial