Obit: Swope, Shane R. #2 (1960 - 2018)
Transcriber: Robert Lipprandt
bob@wiclarkcountyhistory.org
Surnames: Anderson, Blackburn, Chwala, Copenhaver, Hendrickson, Kmieciak,
Markowitz, Meyer, Nitz, Ponick, Shilts, Smasal, Swope, Warner, Weir
----Source: The Plombon Funeral Home (Stanley, WI) 8/22/2018
Swope, Shane Roland "Pa" (20 OCT 1960 - 18 AUG 2018)
Shane Roland Swope, "Pa" as his children lovingly called him, went to be home
with the Lord at age 57 on Saturday, August 18, 2018, at Ascension St. Clare's
in Weston, WI.
Shane was a beloved figure in the community of Thorp, as the "fix it all" master
mechanic at All Automotive, their business for 25 years. He was a husband,
brother to six, father of five, grandfather to three, and a friend, mentor and
hero to countless more.
Shane was born in Chippewa Falls on October 20th, 1960, and was raised south of
Stanley. Even from a young age, Shane had a tireless work ethic, beginning on
Uncle Buck and Aunt Judy Ponick’s farm at age 12, then as a crane operator for
Cleve Shilts at age 16. He carried his drive into adulthood when he wooed an
older girl named Heidi, first meeting as young teenagers at a gravel pit party.
It was love at first sight, and the two married on October 28, 1978.
Shane was incredibly stubborn, and that trait came in handy at age 19 when a
devastating car accident nearly took his life - but he overcame. Later that day,
his sweet Mom prayed with him to receive Jesus into his heart, a needed Helper,
present for the rest of his life. From then he went on to complete his family &
have three more beautiful children, and was a gentle, sweet, silly father who
never left them wanting for anything. At age 37, death came knocking again in
the form of a heart attack and 4 bypasses. Shane refused to answer. Though his
body endured lasting damage, he was not one to waste time feeling bad for
himself, preferring instead to give back to others.
In the early days, Shane relocated his family to Monterey, California to work
for Jim Shakal, his brother-in-law, who was like a second father. Shane was a
self-taught mechanic & could often be spotted late at night reading stacks of
Chilton auto repair manuals. His motto was "What one man can do, another can
do." When he put his mind to something, it was only a matter of time before he
accomplished it.
Upon returning home to Thorp in 1992, the following year Shane opened All
Automotive and quickly became a trusted resource to many for all things
mechanical - but his skills didn't stop there. He could fix anything you put in
front of him, and he could build anything, too. There was nary a problem he
couldn't solve with his wits, like a real-life MacGyver.
Shane had a reputation in the community as the guy you could count on, and he
will be dearly missed by thousands of customers, who would often travel long
distances to bring their
vehicles to his garage. He would never turn away anyone that needed help, &
never gave a second thought to driving five hours to pick up a stranded
acquaintance on a highway, or
tackling a difficult project no one else could figure out.
In addition to his shop, Shane had many other hobbies, including hunting,
fishing, John Wayne movies, and an obsessive love of woodworking. His home and
many others are filled with beautiful handcrafted custom works of art, which he
toiled away on for hours, and gave away freely without a second thought. To
satisfy his sweet tooth, he enjoyed his Aunt Connie’s lemon meringue pie on
every birthday.
Shane will be lovingly remembered by Heidi, his wife of nearly 40 years, & his
mother, Cynthia Swope, who he was deeply devoted to. He will be dearly missed by
his 5 children, Shane Jr. (Molly Meyer) Swope of Appleton, Gabriel (Amanda
Markowitz) Swope of Stanley & their 3 children Jackson, Chaselee & Boden,
Jasmine Swope of Bloomington, MN, Haley Swope of Eau Claire, & Shea Swope of St.
Paul, MN. He is also survived by 6 siblings, Steven (Candy) Swope, Lori
(Timothy) Nitz, Lynn (Edward) Shilts, Kim (Michael Mason) Kmieciak, & Kelly
Copenhaver, all of Stanley, & Ronald Jr. “Buck” (Bethany) Swope of Lake Hallie.
He is preceded in death by his father, Ronald Swope, his grandparents Kenneth
and Betty Swope, and Harvey and Ann Hendrickson.
Funeral services will be held at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Stanley, with
Randy Vandeloo officiating. Visitation is Wednesday, August 22, from 4-8pm, as
well as 9:30-10:30am on Thursday, prior to the funeral at 10:30am. Burial will
follow at South Worden Cemetery.
Plombon Funeral Service assisted the family with arrangements.
Shane’s pallbearers are his five auto mechanics Timothy Anderson, Matthew
Blackburn, Jamie Weir, Josh Chwala, & Roger Warner, as well as neighboring shop
owner and friend, Tom Smasal.
Honorary pallbearers are his three grandchildren Jackson, Chaselee and Boden
Swope.
© Every submission is protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998.
Show your appreciation of this freely provided information by not copying it to any other site without our permission.
Become a Clark County History Buff
|
|
A site created and
maintained by the Clark County History Buffs
Webmasters: Leon Konieczny, Tanya Paschke, Janet & Stan Schwarze, James W. Sternitzky,
|