John Scott Shewmaker, of Hot Springs, Arkansas, born on June 15, 1949, to Harrel and Norma May Shewmaker, passed from this life on January 14, 2016. John married his beloved wife, Lana, on July 15, 1996, and the two of them enjoyed a beautiful life of almost 20 years residing in Hot Springs.
As a faithful Christian and member of the National Park Church in Hot Springs, he was also a loving husband, father and Poppy.
John is survived by wife, Lana; parents, Harrel and Geraldine Shewmaker; son, Thomas Shewmaker (Susan); daughter, Jessica Daniels (Michael); daughter, Jennifer Horton (Lance); sister, Nena Burnette (Keith) and sister, Phyllis Williams (Marty); grandchildren, Tyson Bouscher, Piper and Campbell Daniels, Jonas Shewmaker, Landon Brown, and Stella Kellim.
John is also survived by his best friend since childhood, Hank Walters; his “angel on earth”, Nancy Lewis; father-in-law, HC Todd, as well as many other family members and friends who will miss him dearly.
After earning multiple degrees from Arkansas State University, John spent a lifetime career as an administrator at Hot Springs, Paragould, Oak Grove and Lafe school districts.
John was a recipient of the prestigious National Milken Educator’s Award and was invited to Los Angeles, along with his father, to receive to award and then to the White House for recognition, thereafter.
As a member of the National Coalition of Essential Schools, John traveled throughout the US on education reform advisory teams. After retiring from Hot Springs School District, he served on Scholastic Audit teams for the Arkansas Department of Education.
While living in Hot Springs, John served as President of the Garland County Educators’ Federal Credit Union Board of Directors.
For years after John started taking cancer treatments, he volunteered to drive other patients who did not have family, friends or means of travel to their cancer treatments, through the American Cancer Society Road to Recovery program, as often as five times a week. He said that this helped him realize that no matter how bad things were, there was always someone who was worse off than he was. John’s acts of generosity, humility, and bravery, in the midst of his own battle with cancer, were a featured Road to Recovery story on a Little Rock new station.
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