Date of death: 1/23/2007
Saint Meinrad Class: O 1969
Two Roman Catholic priests assigned to churches in Hamlet and Wadesboro were killed Tuesday in an automobile crash in Scotland County. Abbot Patrick Shelton, 77, and the Rev. David Draim, 63, died after their car turned into the path of a truck, said David Hains, communications director for the 46-county Catholic Diocese of Charlotte. Shelton and Draim served two churches that are part of the diocese, St. James the Greater in Hamlet and the Sacred Heart Mission in Wadesboro.Father David was born in Vincennes, Indiana, April 8, 1943. He was ordained a priest of the Order of Saint Benedict on June 23, 1973.Abbot Patrick and Father David served the spiritual needs of Catholics in Richmond and Anson counties at St. James the Greater Church in Hamlet, N.C., and Sacred Heart Mission in Wadesboro, N.C. Records from the Catholic Diocese of Charlotte, N.C., show 145 registered households in the two churches.Father David was born in Vincennes, Indiana, April 8, 1943. He was ordained a priest of the Order of Saint Benedict on June 23, 1973.Information obtained from The Charlotte Observer online on 1/25/07, and from the St. Leo Abbey website, www.saintleoabbey.org.