John Charles Shenefield |
| Posted 2009-03-16 by Judy Wight Branson |
| The Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona Tuesday, March 28, 2006 John Charles Shenefield, age 79, died on March 24, 2006, at The Bob Stump Veterans Affairs Hospice in Prescott, Ariz. John was born March 10, 1927, the middle child of Roland and Josephine (Zachariah) Shenefield, and reared in Ottawa Hills, Ohio, with his brother, Robert, and his sister, Sue. Immediately after graduation from high school in 1945, John was drafted and served with the Eighth Army in Japan. He attended the University of Toledo prior to joining the R. A. Shenefield and Sons insurance agency in Toledo, Ohio. During this time he was active in the Toledo Repertoire Theatre where he met Mary Elizabeth Peterson of Perrysburg, Ohio, whom he married Oct. 7,1950. After their marriage, each was active not only in the theater but also in Glenwood Lutheran Church. Although he performed in many productions, his favorite roles remain Matthew Harrison Brady in "Inherit the Wind" and Daddy Warbucks in "Annie." His church activity also manifested itself in music and youth work, which led to Bowling Green State University to obtain a Liberal Arts degree in order to enter seminary. Upon graduation, he enrolled at the Chicago Lutheran Seminary and then Hamma Divinity School at Wittenberg University, Springfield, Ohio. He was ordained by the Synod of Ohio of The United Lutheran Church in America at Glenwood Church, Toledo, Ohio, July 9, 1959. Following his first call to Zion Lutheran Church in Canton, Ohio, he served parishes in the Western Pennsylvania Synod, highlighted by the renovation and rebuilding of Forks Zion Lutheran Church in Leechburg, Pa. Having received army training in Wyoming, John had always wished to return. A call from St. Luke's Lutheran Church in Buffalo, Wyo., fulfilled this desire. His time in the Chancel with the children of the parish made Sunday services special. He retired from the ministry in June of 1976 and, utilizing his favorite hobby of photography, opened a retail camera store in Riverton, Wyo. Later, he added video production, documentation, and transfer. He frequently supplied the vacancy at St. James Episcopal Church in Riverton. The retail camera facility was sold and the video business was brought to Prescott, in 1988. He worked until diagnosed with myelodys-plastic syndrome (MDS) in December of 2001. Attracted to the liturgy, the music, the friendly congregants and the clergy's devoted delivery of the Gospel at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Prescott, he and Mary became members. Survivors include his wife of 55 years, Mary; sons and daughters-in-law, Jordan Allison Shenefield and Susan of Lilburn, Ga., Eric Ford Shenefield and Linette of Phoenix; granddaughters and husbands Joni Allison and Darrell Skogman of Dahlonega, Ga., Christine Beth and Matthew Shropshire of Tempe, Ariz. ; brother Robert and wife Lucille of Spartanburg, S.C.; sister, Sue Carman of Chesapeake, Va.; nieces Carole Leone, Ellen Kayser, Amy Dulka, and Judy Peterson; nephews Greg Peterson, Bruce Peterson, William Carman, Robert Shenefield, Jr., and Charles Shenefield. A Memorial Service will be at St. Luke's Episcopal Church on Thursday, March 30, 2006, at 11 a.m. Thirty minutes of John's favorite organ selections played by Shirley Kalmar will precede the service. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts to St. Luke's Episcopal Preschool, 2000 Shepherds Lane, Prescott, Ariz., 86301, will honor his devotion to children. Information provided by survivors. |
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