M. Lamar Shields

Murray Lamar Shields was born on 2 June 1935 in Salt Lake City, UT. He grew up in a wonderful family as the second of four sons of Murray W. Shields and Helen (Brock) Shields. During the early years of his life the family, including Lamar and his three brothers, Gordon, Roger, and Clint, lived in Fairbanks, Alaska, and then later settled in Gainesville, Florida. In the 1950s Lamar served in Uruguay and Paraguay for over two years as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. His time in South America left a lasting impression, and the tradition of serving the Lord was passed down to his children and grandchildren. After his mission he was drafted into the US Army and served honorably. During his two-year enlistment Lamar was stationed in Korea and then New York. After all those years away, he returned home and graduated from the University of Florida, where his dad was a professor.

Lamar then migrated to Washington D.C. where he began working for the federal government in the US Department of Commerce. At first he worked in the census bureau and the patent office, then ultimately settled into his long term career in the Office of the Secretary as a personnel officer, which later became known as human resources. He retired after a 42-year career in the federal government.

In 1965 Lamar met Sharon Olsen at church in Washington D.C., and they went ice-skating on their first date. Lamar proposed to Sharon on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and they were married on 4 November 1966, in the Idaho Falls, Idaho LDS temple. Now, more than 56 years later, their marriage will continue on into the eternities. Lamar and Sharon had five children that they were deeply proud of: the first son, Doug, was born in 1967, son Jeff in 1969, daughter Dana in 1972, son Greg in 1975, and daughter Megan arrived in 1979. Lamar’s family was always profoundly important to him, both the parents and brothers he started life with, and then his own wife and five kids, followed by fifteen grandchildren and now six great-grandchildren so far.

Lamar loved to travel, and his kids have fond memories of frequent family vacations, often back to the beaches of Florida. Swimming was one of his favorite pastimes, and going to the pool almost every day in the summer was his habit. He was a devout church member, holding numerous callings in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and left a legacy of faith for his posterity.

After a lengthy period of illness, Lamar passed away peacefully in his sleep of natural causes on February 27th 2024, at the age of 88, surrounded by his beloved wife and daughters.