Sheila T. Harty

Sheila T. Harty January 24, 1948 - February 12, 2016 Sheila T. Harty passed away on Friday, February 12, 2016 at Flagler Hospital. Born in Nurnberg, Germany in 1948 to Col. Gerald and Rosella Harty, a military family who traveled the world and have predeceased her. She was a theologian with a BA from USF and MA from FSU. Her major was Catholicism, her minor was Islam, and her thesis was in Judaism. In the 70’s and 80’s, she worked in the political arena as “Applied Ethics” in Washington DC with Ralph Nader, former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark, and former US Surgeon General C. Everett Koop. She was an award winning author with the “Hucksters in the Classroom: A Review of Industry Propaganda in School” which won the 1980 George Orwell Award for Honesty and Clarity in Public Language. Her latest book, “Sins of Faith, Essays in Defense of Reason”, was a compilation of sermons delivered to Unitarian Universalist Fellowships throughout Florida and Georgia since 1998 and published in 2011. Sheila taught Business Ethics at University College, Cork in Ireland and was an editor with the Congressional Budget Office, United Nations University and the World Bank. She has consulted with international consumer groups in Geneva, The Hague, Oslo, Dublin, and Penang, Malaysia. She was a lecturer, editor, and a force in the lives of all who were close to her. She moved to St. Augustine in 1996 to be near her parents and sister, Monica Harty, and brother-in-law, Dean Gelep, who survive her. She is also survived by her brother, Al Harty (Donna) of Maui, Hawaii; paternal uncle, Kevin Harty (Ginny) of Mount Dora, FL and cousin Kevin Harty of Randolph, VT. Her nieces, Maeve Bowman of Vilano Beach, FL and Molly Bowman of Cape Elizabeth, ME will dearly miss their boisterous, eccentric, fun-loving, and provocative aunt as will her California cousins. Her departure has left an immense void. She will be greatly missed by her family and friends. Sheila was due to speak at the St. Augustine Unitarian Universalist service on February 28 on “The Sin of Greed: How ‘Profit’ Became a Dirty Word”. Her paper will be read as part of her memorial at that 10:30 a.m. service. St. Johns Family Funeral Home is serving the family. Flowers are gratefully declined and donations may be made in Sheila’s name to Ralph Nader.