John Samuel “Jack” Shaffer

Jack was born June 9, 1935 to Samuel and Christina (Cockburn) Shaffer near Wrigley Field in Chicago and was a diehard Cubs fan. He attended Lane Tech High School. While Jack was in LaSalle Middle School, he and his childhood friend, Russ McCann, were patrol boys, a role they took very seriously. The leadership skills he learned from the beginning carried through to his twenty-two years of involvement with the Boy Scouts. Jack started as a Cub Scout, went on to become a Boy Scout, earned the Eagle Scout award, and later became a Cub Master. He had the first racially integrated Cub pack in Chicago.

As a young adult, Jack worked various jobs, including scuba diving for a detective agency, driving the airport bus to downtown, and managing a stationary store in the Chicago Loop. Jack met his wife Sharon when she was a student nurse caring for his father. Following her graduation, they were married at Our Saviors Lutheran Church in Suomi Location in 1959. They lived in Chicago for seven years, where they welcomed their two children, Cynthia and Jeffrey. In 1966, they moved back to the UP, where Jack began employment at the Empire Mine. He worked as a production truck driver and loader operator, retiring in 1997.

Jack was active in many community organizations over his ninety years. He was a member of the Golden Wildcat Club, the Great Lakes Training Center Association Board, and active in Our Saviors Lutheran Church, serving on the church council. He was also the coach of the Palmer Little League baseball team for nine years, served on the Richmond Township zoning board, and was a member of the Richmond Township Fire Department.

Jack and Sharon enjoyed traveling and made multiple trips to Europe, where they were able to establish a close relationship with Sharon’s maternal Norwegian relatives, and visits to Scotland, from which Jack’s maternal grandparents immigrated. His Maternal Grandparents were very influential in his youth.

Jack leaves behind his loving wife of 66 years, Sharon (Korpi) Shaffer and his beloved cat, Brenda: his son, Jeffrey (Dwight Lapine) Shaffer; niece, Lynn McDonnell; nephew, Mike Willig; cousins: Chris Martin, Betty (Dennis) Mahoney, and the young generation of the Willig, McDonnell, Martin, Mahoney, and Taylor families. He was preceded in death by his parents, his daughter, Cynthia; one sister, Marjorie (Don) Taylor; sister-in-law, Carolyn (Bill) Willig; his beloved aunt Eva (Bill) Adams; and one nephew, Nick Willig.

Visitation will be held at Koskey Funeral Home on Wednesday, May 20th from 3-6 pm and also at Community Lutheran Church in Suomi Location on Thursday from 10:00 am until the time of funeral services beginning at 11:00 am with Rev. Virginia Paulson officiating. A luncheon will follow in the church hall. Burial will take place in Gwinn Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be directed in Jack’s memory to Community Lutheran Church.

Mr. Shaffer’s memorial page may be viewed at koskeyfuneralhome.com.