The following eulogy was shared by Kevin at his dad's funeral on Thursday, October 23:
Dad, William "Bill" Lester Sheckler, was born to Lester and Ileath
Sheckler on June 4, 1930. He was the oldest of two children. His brother,
Jerry, was 4 years younger, but they were very close. As a child he lived on
Nash Street, Gardner St., and Martindale St. here in town, and he also lived near
Camp Lake. His favorite neighborhood was on Martindale. In that neighborhood he
had friends in every direction. He and his friends played basketball, football,
flew kites, went swimming and in the winter they went sledding and skiing down
Symonds Hill. He and his friends also played a game called Deer, which was a
corncob with a chicken feather stuck in it. Dad said that if you were the deer,
watch out for a corncob coming at you! For Dad, as a child, home was a place
where he could always feel wanted.
As a boy, Dad would wear nickers
and long socks, with high tops that had a jack knife pouch on one side. In the
summers he ran around without shoes. As Dad grew up his best friend was
Ken Deyoung. They used to skip school together, hitch hike to Holland, and see
Ken’s sisters. Dad attended Sparta High School,
where his favorite teacher was Mr. VanHousen, the shop teacher and football
coach. Dad’s favorite subjects in school were Art and Shop. Along with Ken Deyoung, his other
friends included Charles Switzer, Lewis Salisbury and Farmer Lang. The popular
hang out place was Bick’s Restaurant, the ice cream shop. As for music, Dad
enjoyed listening to Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra in those days. Dad’s first car was a 1947 Chevrolet.
However, he and his mom were hit by a train in it. Both of them survived just
fine. Dad’s first job was at the Ben Franklin Store, tagging merchandise,
sweeping and cleaning up.
At age 20, Dad found the love of
his life. Dad got married to Shirley Jane Kik on March 24, 1951. The first
impression that he had of mom was that she was a beautiful woman. They would go
on to be married for just over 52 years, with Mom passing in 2003. He said mom
was his best friend, and that the greatest gift was being married to her and
having 7 children.
Anyone who spent any amount of time
with Bill Sheckler quickly realized that he was as down to earth, and humble,
as a person could find. Dad not only didn’t like to put on airs, I don’t think
he knew how to. What a great trait! So, there was no pretense with Dad.
In fact, I heard from a friend of mine who said that when he would see my Dad,
my friend would say, “How are you, Mr. Sheckler?” And Dad would respond, “I’m
Bill...how are you?”
That is not to say that Dad did not
earn a lot of respect. He did. Through the qualities of hard work and
discipline Dad achieved a lot. For example, Dad is one of Sparta’s own best
athletes. He was officially recognized some years ago for his great
accomplishments on the football field, baseball field, basketball court, and even
on the track here at Sparta. Yet,
baseball was Dad’s favorite sport. Dad was a great left-handed pitcher. In high
school, Dad threw his first no hitter. After graduating high school in 1948, Dad
signed with the New York Yankees minor league team. He went to Plattsburgh, NY,
that summer for training. He signed a contract for $250 a month...However, he
never ended up playing for the Yankees because the league folded in the winter.
Dad then signed with the Pittsburg Pirates, since they had first rights to him.
He played in Fargo, ND, then on to Wasauw, WI. During his pro-ball days, Dad
threw a no hitter. However, his most thrilling
pitching performance was a disappointing 1-to-nothing defeat the first game of
the year in 1949. His pitching opponent that day was Bob Turley, who went on to
be a Cy Young Award winner and Champion with the New York Yankees.
Dad not only earned respect as an
athlete, he was also a Marine. (Ooh rah!).
A couple of Dad’s accomplishments as a jarhead are worth noting. During
boot camp he didn’t just shoot expert on the rifle range, no, he shot a
remarkable score of 240 out of a possible 250 points. That really is impressive!
Dad went from there to fight in the Korean War, and though he had varying
roles, he was given a commendation metal for his courageous action during an
intense two-day mission. Let me read the comments from the award letter he
received:
The Commanding General, 1st Marine Division
(Reinf) takes pleasure in commending
Corporal William L. Sheckler
United States Marine Corps
For service as set forth in the following
Citation:
“For heroic service in the line of his profession while
serving with a Marine infantry battalion during operations against the enemy in
Korea on 24-25 July 1953. Serving as a driver, Corporal Sheckler displayed
outstanding ability and professional skill. During an intense attack by a far
numerically superior enemy force all communications between the battalion command
post and a mortar position were severed. Although the route of communication to
the main line of resistance was subjected to constant interdictory mortar and
artillery fire, he made innumerable trips between the battalion command post
and the mortar position. With complete disregard for his personal safety, he
carried orders which allowed the battalion commander to direct and shift mortar
fire to effectively support the rifle companies on the main line of resistance.
His fearless and efficient maneuverings through the intense mortar and
artillery fire that often rendered the route seemingly impassable, were
instrumental in the continual operation of the mortars. Corporal Sheckler’s
excellent conduct throughout served as an inspiration to all who observed him
and was in keeping with the highest tradition of the United States Naval
Service.”
Commendation Metal Pendant with Combat “V” Authorized.
R. McC Pate
Major General, U.S. Marine Corps
Commanding
Dad’s hard work and discipline also
earned him a great deal of respect in his occupation. Dad was an electrician.
He worked for Consumer’s Power Company for well over 30 years. Of course, Dad
gained a lot of respect from us, his family, for his dedication and bravery in
his job. Whenever ice storms or thunderstorms came into our area, while most of
us would hunker down behind closed doors, Dad headed into the storms. He would often
get asked to come in to work during those stormy times, to his children’s
consternation. Dad very rarely turned down those opportunities because he wanted
to provide for his family. However, of all the times that Dad went to work in
those storms, he never complained.
Dad’s hard work would continue on
later as he went to work for Kent City Ford and The Rogue Golf Course. At the
golf course Dad would get up before the birds and head out there to mow the
grass. He did that faithfully for many years.
Another one of Dad’s great traits
was his servant heartedness. Dad cared for others by serving them. This was
true about his service in the Marines, as an electrician, in his service as a
member of the local Lions Club, and in many other ways. Dad cared for his
community, even serving on the Sparta village council for a number of years.
His care for others through service
really hit home with me one day as I was reflecting back on an occasion when Dad
was picking me up from going to the military processing station in Detroit. It
was one of those silent but emotional father-son moments. At one point, Dad
began to open up and tell me that he always sought to put food on the table for
us and to provide the things that we needed. I was not really sure what he was
getting at, so I probably said something like “Yeah, Dad, thanks.” But it wasn’t
until years later that I realized that in a rare vulnerable moment, Dad was
really saying to me “I love you.” Along with, “I love my family”. The way Dad
demonstrated his love was by serving us and providing for us. Dad’s love
language was service, and that was often how he operated to show his love to others.
One other quality that I think all
of us kids received from Dad was that he loved mom and thought very highly of
her. Dad would often say to me, “Your mom, she was a good one, Kev!” I know
that he missed her every day. And we are so glad that now, he and mom are
together again.
Dad had a lot of skills. I
mentioned his being an athlete and electrician, but Dad was also a fantastic
gardener. His tomatoes, cucumbers and beans were always the best. He also was a great
canner. His canned pickles peaches and tomatoes were all delicious. Dad
also made homemade potato soup, noodles, dumplings and an egg salad that will
be greatly missed.
Dad was also a woodworker and
craftsman of sorts. He pretty much remodeled every inch of the house there on
East Gardner, and he also built the garage. He did a number of things with his
table saw and other tools. One of Dad’s finest projects was the butterflies
that he made. They are things of beauty. He spent countless hours making those
butterflies through the years. His attention to detail, in sanding them alone,
was just amazing.
Dad was also very creative with his
words, which displayed his wit. Here are a few examples:
- If something was hot, he’d say, “That’s hotter
than a little red wagon!”
- If something was cold, he’d say, “That’s cold as
a stone.”
- If it was really cold outside, his words usually
were, “It must be 40 below!”
- If you had a strong opinion about something, but
he didn’t, then he’d say, “Well, if you say so...”
- If you were a child, and you were starting to
get out of control he’d say firmly, “Simmer down!”
- If anyone ate mushrooms, he’d say: “Anybody who
eats those sleeps in their underwear.”
- If it was bedtime, he’d either say, “It’s Beddie
bye time in the Rockies”, or “It’s time to hit the sack.”
- If something didn’t meet his expectations, he’d
say, “It’s not worth a hill of beans.”
So, that’s just a little taste of
his creative jargon.
But Dad also had nicknames for many
of us. Some of his handles included Peter
James, which he affectionately called our mom, Jim was Jimmer James, Glen was
Sammy, Bruce was Rooster, Tom was Tommy Boy, Paul was Wookah, I was Kevi
Koverson, Kerri was Boone, and his brother, Jerry, was Snag. His granddaughter,
Christina, was Weanie Beanie and his grandson, Aaron, was Whobe (as in, who be
you?).
He loved his grandkids a great
deal, but he would also mess around with him. He would often say to a
granddaughter, “Are you a boy?” or “You’re a funny looking boy.” or “Is your
name Matilda?” His grandsons didn’t have it any easier, they would get: “Is
your name Claude Pepperbox?”
Dad had many interests through the
years:
- Fishing and camping were high on the list. He
said his favorite place to visit was “north”. But I think it’s fair to say that
Two-Hearted River in the UP was a favorite destination. He started going there with his Dad around
1960.
- Dad also spent a lot of time watching his
children and grandchildren play ball or whatever activity that we were involved
in.
- Dad enjoyed passing the time by building fires
in his garage, putting jigsaw puzzles together, watching the Tigers, and
college basketball, reading Louis L’Amour and a variety of other books. Dad, of
course, loved nature. In fact, Dad said that he felt the presence of God when
“Just looking about.”
- Of course, Dad always looked forward to having
coffee with the boys. Lately that was at Maxine’s in town.
- Speaking of which, both mom and dad had a lot of
friends here in Sparta and around the area, and we children certainly were, and
are, richly blessed to have gotten to know so many of them through our parents.
Well, what an honor it has been to
share with you some things about Dad today. I will miss him dearly. I am so
grateful for his love and support for me personally throughout the years. We
will all miss him for the same reasons. He was indeed a good man.
I want to close with something
about him that means a great deal to many of us, and that has to do with his
faith. I recall one time giving him a book called Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ by John Piper. After he read the
book, he told me he really liked chapter 10. The focus of that chapter is God’s
mercy. I want to share some excerpts from that chapter, which I believe well depicts the object of Dad's faith.
Piper writes:
- God is the wealthiest person in the universe. He
not only owns more than anyone else. He owns everyone else and everything
everyone else owns. When you create something, it belongs to you. And God
created everything-including us.
- But, strikingly, the New Testament describes the
wealth of God not mainly in terms of what he created and owns, but mainly in
terms of the glory he has from all eternity.
- God did not create to get wealth; he created to
display wealth-the wealth of his glory for the enjoyment of his people...
- But even more specifically, the focus of the New
Testament is that the wealth of God's glory is, at its apex, the wealth of his
mercy.
- The universe exists primarily to display the
wealth of the glory of the mercy of God for the enjoyment of his redeemed
people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
- Justice is essential among the perfections of
God's glory. But mercy is paramount.
- For this reason Jesus Christ came into the
world. Jesus is the mercy of God incarnate and visible. He is also the justice
of God incarnate; but justice was subordinate: "God did not send the Son
into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved
through him" (John 3:17).
- This mercy that Jesus embodies and brings is
utterly free. Not that there was no cost. Jesus paid the price at the cost of
his own life.
- We do not earn mercy. We receive it as a free
gift by faith, not by works. "He saved us, not because of works done by us
in righteousness, but according to his own mercy" (Titus 3:5).
- All the Father's mercies belong to those who
come to God through faith in Jesus. Hebrews 4:16 says, "Let us with
confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find
grace to help in time of need".
Dad confidently trusted in the
grace and mercy of God. And, right now, Dad is basking in the glorious reality
of the mercy of God. But, if Dad was able to speak to us today, I am quite certain
that he would urge each of us to acknowledge our need for a savior and to put
our faith in the one and only merciful Savior, Jesus Christ.
