William Glen Shafer

William Glen Shafer Marco Island, FL
William Glen Shafer, 81, of Marco Island joined his heavenly family on September 14, 2008 after a two-year battle with cancer.
Bill was born April 17, 1927 in Sigourney, Iowa to the late William Glen Shafer and Jennie Michel Shafer. He was raised in this small southeast Iowa town during the Great Depression, a fact that shaped the man he became. He graduated from Sigourney High School in 1945 and entered the U.S. Navy near the end of WWII. After his tour of duty, Bill returned to Iowa and earned a degree in Dairy Science from Iowa State University.
Bill worked from an early age and work was one of his joys in life. His first job, at age 11, was as a paperboy for the The Des Moines Register . He put himself through Iowa State on the G.I. Bill and by making cheese, part time, at the Iowa State Agricultural Lab. Bill dedicated his entire career to the dairy business and he held every conceivable job from washing cream cans to managing sales. Eventually he rose to the role of Senior Vice President of Fairmont Foods, a Fortune 500 company based in Omaha at the time. Following 26 years at Fairmont, Bill moved on to build and then sell a wholesale dairy processing company for Cumberland Farms, the East Coast convenience store chain.
Bill was a wise and good man who gave generously to his family, church and community. It's a big part of what defined him as a person. He was an active member of St. Mark's Episcopal Church on Marco Island, serving on the vestry. He also served for many years on the board of his condo association, helping to steer his fellow homeowners through hurricane repairs and other financial matters. In addition he was a S.C.O.R.E. volunteer helping small business owners get started.
Bill loved Lauri, his wife of 30 years, dearly. He loved his three sons, their wives and children, and their children's children. Those who were blessed by Bill's love and his deep concern for their well being love him and will miss him more than words can say. If life is about loving and about caring for others-as Bill believed it was-his was a life lived to its fullest.
Bill is survived by his adoring wife, Loretta (Lauri) Daugherty Shafer; sons, David Keith, William Glen Shafer III and David Burn; daughters in law, Pam Keith, Carol Shafer, Lisa Giboo and Darby Strong; grandchildren, Stephanie Keith Taylor (and husband, Joe), Amanda Shafer Scholtes (and husband, Jonathan), Sarah Shafer Pinkelman (and husband, Travis), Matt Holubar, Adam Holubar and William Glen Shafer IV; great grandchildren, Cooper Taylor and Gabriela Taylor; and two nieces Janet Shafer Sedgwick and Nancy Shafer Gysland. Bill was preceeded in death by his brother, Robert and sister, Glenda Jo.

Memorial services will be held 11:00 a.m. Saturday, September 20, 2008 at Keokuk County Historical Society in Sigourney. A second service will be conducted later this fall at St. Mark's Episcopal Church on Marco Island. For those wishing to honor him, memorials can be sent to Keokuk County Historical Society, PO Box 123, Sigourney, IA 52591 and Habitat for Humanity of Collier County, 11145 Tamiami Trail East, Naples, Florida 34113.