Doyle "Des" E. Shields

Born July 24, 1925, in Guy Mills, Pa., the seventh child of Alfred and Ethel Shields, his parents and all six of his siblings preceded him in death. Brothers, Dick, Merle and Ethber Shields; sisters, infant baby Clair, Hildred Miller and Winnie Maguire are surely having a heavenly reunion.

We will all miss his humor, kindness and generosity to all who crossed his path. His wife of 41 years, Ann, declares him to be the sweetest man she ever knew. His cats, Mitzi and Murphy would agree. He called them his best buddies.

His early years were spent in Findley Lake and Clymer, N.Y., where he loved attending class reunions over the years. His memories of those years are of walking to school in the heavy snow. The snow got deeper and the walks longer with the telling. Then, he did manage to kiss the Blarney Stone on a trip to Ireland in 1977.

At Taylor University in Indiana he remembers working his way through school shoveling coal on campus. With degrees from Taylor and Alfred University in New York he went on, much later to earn his doctorate at Claremont School of Theology in 1980.

Answering the call to the ministry, he served as a Methodist minister in small churches throughout the Western New York and Pennsylvania. After frequent moves, his family including son, Calvin and daughter, Robbin, accepted the call to serve a small church in Olympia, Wash., where he eventually went on to work for the State of Washington in the field of Alcohol and Drugs. Ed Kenealy, the head of the department, became a lifelong, treasured friend. During his tenure, he served as Chaplain at American Lake, the area Veteran's Hospital.

A highlight of his life was the memorial service held in Soy Belgium for his brother, Cpl. John (Ethber) Shields, killed in the Battle of the Bulge in December of 1944, reported missing in action and four years later uncovered in a farmer's field.

A final move brought him to Ventura, Calif., where he worked for the County of Ventura in the field of Alcohol and Drugs on special appointment from the Northwest Conference of the United Methodist Church.

He left a strong presence in the alcoholism field. It was his passion along with developing Agape Therapy which he defined as unconditional love, or treating others as they need it, not whether they deserve it. He wrote books, conducted group sessions, had a private practice - non-profit since he never charged.

He married Ann Malmin in November of 1971, and acquired two stepchildren, teenagers David and Judith Malmin. With the merger of Calvin and Robbin from a previous marriage, family statistics have, at this account include eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, spreading out from Northern California and New York. Grandchildren in California are Suzanne Jaeger and husband Ryan, Andy Malmin, Matthew Weber, Sam Weber, Elle Kolecar and husband Kevin; grandchildren in New York include: Gabriel Shields and fiance Michele, Brittany Dahlgren and husband Jeremy, Natalie Shields and fiance Andrew Hazelton; stepchildren, Judith Weber and her husband Joe, and David Malmin and his wife Barbara all of Ventura; greatgrandchildren in California are Lucas and Nathan Jaeger, and Grace and Shepard Kolecar. In New York, Dylan and Michele Shields-Hazelton, Isis Dahlgren, and Dimitri Wayman. Adding countless nieces and nephews back East, we might fill a school auditorium.

Highlights of a life well lived include every other year treks in a Dodge Van across the country to Ripley, N.Y., with mandatory stops at McDonalds along the way; and always a meal at his niece, Trudy Babcock's diner, a local gathering place in Ripley where the cemetery down the road awaits the journey's end for Doyle E. Shields, better known as Des.

We are thankful for the loving care accorded to Des in his final months at Mound Guest Home by Rick Pittman and his angelic staff - all his favorites Des used to say. Certainly Hospice of Ventura brought comfort with their unique brand of loving care. Thanks, Josie.

A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, March 16, 2013, 11 a.m. at the First United Methodist of Ventura, 1338 E. Santa Clara Street, with the Reverend Charles Simmons and the Reverend James Hoover officiating.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hospice of Ventura.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Ted Mayr Funeral Home and Crematory, 3150 Loma Vista Road, Ventura