William ‘Bill’ Francis Shields
William ‘Bill’ Francis Shields, 66, of Horseshoe Bay died Aug. 16, 2011, after a battle with cancer. He was born in Harvard, Ill., on July 8, 1945, to Francis and Gladys Shields.
He grew up on a dairy farm and attended St. Joseph’s grade school. In 1964, he graduated from Marion Central Catholic High School. He then enlisted in the Navy, serving in Vietnam as a medical corpsman assigned to field hospitals.
When he returned, he met his loving partner in life, parenting and business, Barbara Adams, at their college graduation. They married Sept. 4, 1971. The couple had two sons, Zack and Ben.
In 1978, they moved to Horseshoe Bay to raise their children and be closer to family members. They owned and operated Highland Lakes Travel Agency for more than 20 years.
He loved sports and never missed one of his sons’ sporting events when the boys played for the Llano High School Yellowjackets. He was an avid Chicago White Sox fan. He remembered when the major-league team won the pennant in 1959 and the World Series in 2005. Every year, he enjoyed traveling with his sons to Arlington to watch the White Sox play the Texas Rangers. He dreamt of the day when his 5-year-old grandson Ryan would join them.
The loving husband, dedicated father, doting grandfather and caring friend recognized every moment was a gift from God and lived life to the fullest.
Survivors include his wife Barbara; sons Zack and wife Julie of Austin and Ben and wife Andrea of Lakeway; grandsons Ryan and Matthew; brothers Jim and wife Virginia of Horseshoe Bay and Jerry of Harvard, Ill.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
The family thanks doctors J.D. Hinze, Demetrius Loukas and Shannon Cox and the nurses at Seton Hospital for all their care and attention. The family also wishes to thank the Rev. Ruben Patino for his visits, which brought comfort to the family.
A service is 11 a.m. Aug. 20 at St. Paul the Apostle Chapel, 201 Dalton Circle in Horseshoe Bay.
As one of the founding members of the church, his family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations go to the church’s building capital campaign in his name. Memorials can be sent to St. Paul the Apostle Parish, P.O. Box 8019, Horseshoe Bay, TX 78657.
Condolences can be made at www.clementswilcoxfuneralhome.com.
Arrangements by Clements-Wilcox Funeral Home, 1805 U.S. 281 North in Marble Falls, (830) 693-4373.