Roger F. Shields
MANHATTAN - Roger F. Shields,
85, of Manhattan, died Friday (Feb. 9, 2007) at Mercy Regional Health Center in
Manhattan.
He was born Feb. 1, 1922, in
Ralston, Okla., to Roger Francis and Bernice (Eichhorn) Shields. He grew up in
Osage County, Okla., and had been a longtime Arkansas City and Newton resident
prior to moving to Manhattan in 1995.
He attended Oklahoma A&M
in the ROTC program for two years prior to enlisting in the U.S. Army Air
Corps. He served as a staff sergeant during World War II from June 9, 1942, to
his honorable discharge on Nov. 2, 1945. He had received the American Service
Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal and
the Victory Medal.
He worked for Santa Fe
Railroad as the assistant chief dispatcher in Kansas and Oklahoma.
He was a member of Sacred
Heart Catholic Church in Arkansas City. He had served in the executive board of
the Chisholm Trail Credit Union, school board member of the St. Mary Catholic
School in Newton and the National Barbershop Quartet Association. He was a
hospice volunteer for many years, and enjoyed bicycling and playing
racquetball.
In 1946, in Winfield, he
married the former Marge Lee Colvin. She preceded him in death on June 9, 1999.
He also was preceded in death by a son, Christopher Kelly Shields; a sister,
Gladys Welker; and a son-in-law, Joe Blatchford.
Survivors include four
children: Mike Shields and his wife Aurora of Tecumseh, Steve Shields and his
wife Sally of Manhattan, Marsha Blatchford of Arkansas City and Sally Boone and
her husband Bill of Houston; seven grandchildren: Debbie Masterson, Diana
Holtke, Darci Crow, Denise White, Hannah Shields, Ben Shields and Elisa Shields;
and eight great-grandchildren.
A memorial Mass will be at 11
a.m. Saturday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Arkansas City with Father
Charles Seiwert as celebrant. Graveside services with military honors will be
at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Riverside Cemetery in Ralston, Okla.
A Rosary service will be at 7
p.m. Friday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Arkansas City.
Online condolences may be
left for the family through the Yorgensen-Meloan-Londeen Funeral Home Web site
at www.ymlfuneralhome.com.
Memorial contributions may be
made to the Meadowlark Hills Good Samaritan Fund in care of the funeral home,
1616 Poyntz Avenue, Manhattan, KS 66502.
