Harriet Shetler, co-founder of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), died on April 2 in Madison, Wis. at the age of 92.  Her death was confirmed to the New York Times by her daughter, Jane S. Ross.

A parent of a schizophrenic son, Charles, Shetler founded NAMI, known then as the Alliance for the Mentally Ill (AMI), alongside 13 of her peers in April 1977. In 1979, AMI formed an alliance with a California-based advocacy group for the mentally ill and was renamed the National Alliance on Mental Illness. From that point forward, NAMI grew throughout the nation and now includes affiliates in all 50 states and more than 1,100 communities.

“Cenpatico has been a long time supporter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), and we were saddened to hear of the death of Mrs. Harriet Schetler, one of our nation’s most passionate and prominent champions for those suffering from mental illness,” Cenpatico Chief Executive Officer Sam Donaldson, PhD, said Monday. “As we mourn Harriet’s passing, we are reminded of her overwhelming accomplishments as co-founder of NAMI and her lifelong mission to end the stigma associated with mental illness in our society.”

Shetler was born Harriet Jane McCown on Aug. 1, 1917, in Leechburg, Pa. Mrs. Shetler’s husband, Charles W. Shetler, died on March 21. The couple is survived by their daughter, son, and two grandsons.

Information from the New York Times (www.nytimes.com) and National Alliance on Mental Illness (www.nami.org) was used in this report.

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