It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of the President Emeritus of the Dominica Academy of Arts & Sciences (www.thedominica-academy.org) Dr. Clayton Arthur Shillingford (April 25, 1936 – May 23, 2024).
A distinguished cadet, athlete, scholar, and graduate of the Dominica Grammar School, Clayton graduated with honors in Mathematics and Botany from the University College of the West Indies (later University of the West Indies). He went on to earn an MS in Botany from Kings College London and received his PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champagne. A former senior plant scientist and researcher at the Dupont Laboratory in Delaware Clayton spent a lifetime volunteering with the South Florida Dominica Association, the Dominica Academy. They were a founding member of Rebuild Dominica (www.rebuilddominica.org).
He desired to aggregate the scattered human resources of Dominica’s Diaspora in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom and partner with Dominicans at home and the government for the development of Dominica and the wider Caribbean. While the Dominica Academy had many successes, true partnership with the Dominica government remained elusive. He leaves to mourn his wife Margaret Shillingford, his daughter Gillian Palacios-Shillingford, and grandchildren, several siblings, family members, and friends.
The members, friends, and supporters of the Dominica Academy and Rebuild Dominica render a heartfelt salute to a stalwart patriot and civic leader. We shall remember him.