[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 102 (Wednesday, July 21, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1435]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             DR. MARVIN LEWIS SHELTON: A SURGEON'S SURGEON

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 20, 2004

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the loss and to pay 
tribute to one of America's outstanding surgeons who pioneered advanced 
operative techniques and implants for the treatment of ankle fractures, 
Dr. Marvin Lewis Shelton. His genius as a researcher and inventor in 
his field earned him the moniker, ``the George Washington Carver of 
Orthopedic Surgery.''
  Dr. Shelton died at his home in Riverdale, New York, on July 7, 2004. 
He was 72.
  What a man he was and what a family he left behind. With all of his 
professional and academic successes, Dr. Shelton's first loves were his 
family and his beautiful and devoted wife of 48 years, Arden Shelton, a 
great talent and songstress in her own right. They were blessed with 
four accomplished children: Dr. Yvonne Shelton of Northboro, Mass; Le 
Ann Shelton, AIA, Esq., of New York; Marla L. Shelton, Ph.D., of New 
York and Marvin Lloyd Shelton of New York. To Arden and the entire 
Shelton family, I offer my deepest condolences.
  A surgeon's surgeon, Dr. Shelton was an innovator of techniques 
adapted in his field for 30 years. A social trailblazer at some of New 
York City's greatest medical institutions, he was the first African 
American board-certified orthopedic attending surgeon at Columbia 
University Medical Center, and the first of his race to gain admitting 
privileges to an Ivy League-affiliated hospital.
  As Director of Residency Training Program and Director of Orthopedic 
Surgery at Harlem Hospital, where he worked for twenty-five years, Dr. 
Shelton formalized the rotation of Columbia/New York Presbyterian 
residents at the Harlem institution. He also established an independent 
training program that facilitated the medical licenses for many 
minority and foreign-trained physicians to practice in New York and 
other cities.

  Born in Pittsburgh in 1931, Dr. Shelton was raised in Wilmington, 
North Carolina, and educated at Howard University, where he graduated 
with honors in earning his B.A., M.A. and medical degrees. After 
completing his internship, he completed his residency in Honolulu, then 
served as Chief of the Orthopedic Section at Fort Jackson, South 
Carolina.
  A doctor, teacher and family man, Dr. Shelton was also an avid 
sportsman who was actively involved in golf and skiing. He shared his 
wife's interest in the arts, and for a time owned the Shelton Gallery 
on E. 62nd Street in Manhattan.
  I will remember his love for Harlem, for Harlem Hospital, and his 
willingness to forego so many opportunities so that he could remain 
there to train and inspire many young doctors.
  Dr. Shelton published widely and presented numerous papers at 
national meetings. He was a Diplomat of the American Board of 
Orthopedic Surgery since 1964 and was a member of the American 
Orthopedic Association, Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society, 
Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, American College of Surgeons, American 
Association for the Surgery of Trauma, American Trauma Society, New 
York Academy of Medicine, National Medical Association, Orthopedic 
Trauma Association and Orthopedic Association, among others.
  His discoveries and advances made Dr. Shelton a highly sought-after 
speaker who delivered more than two dozen lectures around the world. He 
also held visiting professorships at Yale University, University of 
Minnesota and the University of Oregon.
  A part of Marvin will always be with me. I was his patient in 1971 
when, applying one of his inventions, he restored and healed my badly 
fractured ankle. I haven't taken a bad step since.

                          ____________________