Obituary Details

George J. Shinker

(10/13/1932 - 04/18/2009)
Courtesy of The Lusk Herald, 04/22/2009

George J. Shinker

Services for George J. Shinker, a former Chadron resident who was a successful teacher, coach and school administrator, will be in Chadron this week. He died Saturday in Lincoln, Neb. where he had lived since 1995. He was 76.

Visitation will be at Chamberlain Chapel from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday. A mass of Christian burial will at St. Patrick's Catholic Church at 10 a.m. Thursday. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery.

Shinker was born Oct. 13, 1932 in Dalton to George and Cora (VanAnne) Shinker. When George Jr. was a youth, the family moved to Chadron. He graduated from Assumption Academy in 1950, and earned a bachelor's degree in 1955 and a master's degree in 1962, both from Chadron State College.

In 1953 while Shinker was still a student at Chadron State, he became the coach of all sports at Assumption. His first football team, which played six-man, went 0-7, but during the next five years the Panthers were 34-7-1. His teams in 1955, 1957 and 1958 each lost just one game. His basketball teams won four straight Class D district championships and had a 59-27 record during that period. The 1957-58 team was 19-4.

In the spring of 1959, Shinker became a social studies teacher and basketball coach at Lusk, where he spent three years before moving to Hemingford, where he was the high school principal from 1962 through 1964.

He became the principal at Ainsworth High School in 1964 and served in that position for three years before he was promoted to superintendent in 1967-72. Shinker also was the superintendent of the Creighton, Neb., Schools 1972-79 and the West Holt Schools at Atkinson 1979-95.

Shinker served as the representative from District 3 on the Nebraska School Activities Association's Board of Control for 10 years until his retirement in 1995. Throughout his tenure as an administrator, he was well-known for assisting students who were economically deprived so they could compete in school activities.

Francis Rose of Billings, Mont., who worked with Shinker at Lusk, said he was one of the best teachers and loyal coaching staff members he ever knew.

Shinker was married to Marilyn DiTonto of Chadron on Aug. 7, 1952. She died June 17, 2002.

Survivors include three daughters, Georgia Stewart, Peggy Jalalian and Ann Philbrick, and her husband Dennis, all of Lincoln; and a son Stan Shinker and his wife Tina of Rosemount, Minn.; five grandchildren; and several brothers and sisters.

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