of Little Rock, AR

September 2, 1923 - January 4, 2023

Our father, John Horner Shields, went to heaven on January 4, 2023. John was born on September 2, 1923 and survived the Great Depression and landing on Easy Red Sector, Omaha Beach in Normandy during WWII. He married Ann Brizzolara on June 18, 1957.

He was blessed with the memory of an elephant, a genuine perspicacity, along with an alacrity of humor that was not appreciated by his children until later in life. He had to pick the five of us up from school one day because of an unexpected snowstorm and returned to his office with us in tow. We rapidly heard from the administrative assistants that our father was so funny. In almost unison, we all said "Our father?" in disbelief. Even at the end, when he was served a meal at the hospital that was less than desirable and the room cold, one of us commented that some of the equipment at the hospital was not working as to the temperature and almost immediately his comeback was "obviously that's the case in the kitchen as well".

Later in life, he reminisced about his time in the war where he was tricked into asking the supply sergeant for a pillow when he first arrived in England and was told that didn't exist and to tell his superiors to stop sending idiots also asking for left-handed hammers and striped paint. He joked how they were only given a day's training with a rifle before being handed their own carbines. He served in an Army Air Corps support unit for P-47 Thunderbolt fighter planes. He told how he had to run a POW camp filled with Germans, with no fence and with only an imaginary line the prisoners were not supposed to cross. Some of the Germans did not take the imaginary line seriously when my father informed them that he would not shoot them but the Polish officer he put on watch certainly would, which ended the incursions across the imaginary line.

After the war, he went to the University of Arkansas with only two pants and shirts, where he received his degree in business and was house mates with US Senator Dale Bumpers. He was a diehard Razorback Fan and never missed a home Little Rock game until his 90's. He served one year as the President of the Little Rock Razorback Club. After his Graduation, he parlayed his education into a very successful career in insurance, where he was Vice President and Chief Underwriter at First Pyramid in Life. When he retired, he decided to serve the state of Arkansas working at the Arkansas Insurance Commission until he was eighty.

John was appointed by the Governor of Arkansas to serve on many committees that included: Arkansas Revenue Budget Committee, Arkansas State Employees Insurance Committee, Early Childhood Development Committee, Arkansas Burial Insurance Board and State Building Commission.

He was a devout Catholic and was a very active member in the Knights of Columbus, serving as the Vice Supreme Master along with numerous other positions in the organization dedicated to charity. In 1941, He graduated from Catholic High School in Little Rock, where his four sons and four grandsons would all attend. He loved going to Rocket Games every Friday night for many years. He was awarded Alumnus of the Year and attended the alumni dinner as the oldest alumnus in 2022.

He loved and supported Ann and his five children to the very end, essentially dedicating his life to our well-being. We appreciate him passing on to us his fierce and stubborn sense of self determination and independence.

He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Ann; his five children, Jim (Donna Hodges), Debbie Papineau (Clem), Larry, Robert (Beth) and David (Kay); as well as 6 grandchildren, Tripp Papineau, Hunter Papineau, Jack (Missy) and Joe Shields, Shelby and Mary Agnes Shields.

The family would like to thank the staff at Presbyterian Village and Arkansas Hospice. In lieu of gifts, a donation to the Catholic High Alumni Foundation, with a humorous note, would be greatly appreciated.

John's visitation will be Monday, January 9, 2023 from 6:00-6:30pm, with Rosary to follow. Mass of Christian Burial will be Tuesday, at 2:00pm with Father Patrick Friend officiating. Interment will be at a later date.

Obituary Provided By:
Roller-Chenal Funeral Home
13801 Chenal Parkway
Little Rock, AR  72211
www.rollerfuneralhomes.com