John C. Shenk, Jr., 97 of Bettendorf, passed away peacefully on Sunday, May 14, 2023 at the Clarissa C Cook Hospice House. Private family services will be held Friday, May 19, 2023. He will be laid to rest at Davenport Memorial Park Cemetery. Memorials in John’s name may be made to the Salvation Army or the Scott County Family “Y”.
John was born on May 7, 1926 to John and Anabel Shenk in Evanston, IL. Following high school, John was drafted into the United States Army from 1945 – 1950. During his time with the Army he also served as a Military Police Corps Agent and with the Criminal Investigation Division in Austria (12th CID) and in Japan (22nd CID). On July 18, 1950 he was united in marriage to Mary Strobel; she preceded him in death on October 26, 2002. John earned his AB degree from Washington University in 1950 and later earned his Doctorate of Jurisprudence from the University of Iowa in 1955. He practiced general law from 1955-1961. He went on to be the Director, Vice President, and Staff Counsel at First Trust and Saving Bank from 1961-1962 and then First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Davenport from 1962-1996. At First Federal, he served as the Staff Counsel and Chief Financial Officer, the CEO, and later Chairman of the Board.
John was active in his community; he served as the past president of the Junior Achievement of Scott County and the Scott County United Community Services, Past Director of the Davenport Chamber of Commerce, Past Member of the Financial Advisory Committee, and the Davenport Museum of Art Endowment Fund. He enjoyed fishing, traveling the world (he made it to 60 different countries), and reading. John loved to study history and constitutional law.
Those left to honor his memory are his children John Shenk, III and Lise Schumacher; grandchildren Joseph Schumacher, Sarah Maud Schumacher, and Brianna Charles; great-grandson Elliott Mitchell; brother in law Joe Strobel; and a very special “daughter”, Lori Birkhofer. He was preceded in death by his wife Mary and his parents.
In his honor have a vodka (preferably Stolis) with soda and an olive and cheers to the incredible John C. Shenk, Jr. aka Bucko!
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